I 


Mm 

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THE  PRESENT  STATE 

OF  OLD  ENGLISH 

FURNITURE 

R.  SYMONDS 


ft  FRENCH  &  CO. 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF 
OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/presentstateofolOOsymo_0 


A,  walnut  Armchair  surmounted  by  carved  and  gilt  eagle;  arms  terminating 
in  lion  heads ;  splat  and  rails  of  back  overlaid  with  burr  walnut  veneer. 
(Height  6  ft.  9  in.) 

Circa  1725. 

Pig.   1.  Col.  C. 


THE  PRESENT  STATE 

OF 

OLD  ENGLISH 
FURNITURE 

BY 

R.  W.  SYMONDS 


WITH  116  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 
FREDERICK  A.  STOKES 
PUBLISHERS 


COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  MORRISON  AND  GIBB  LTD.  OF  EDINBURGH,  GREAT  BRITAIN 


PREFACE 


WHEN  the  Author  first  became  interested  in  Old  English  furniture 
he  found  that  the  various  books  on  the  subject,  though  excellent 
from  an  historical  point  of  view,  were  of  no  real  assistance  to  him 
either  for  determining  the  desirable  pieces  to  buy  or  for  the  recognition  of 
genuine  "  untouched  "  examples  ;  and  the  essential  knowledge  he  so  much 
required  he  had  to  obtain  solely  by  practical  experience.  The  difficulties 
which  the  Author  encountered  at  the  outset  will  be  experienced,  doubtless, 
by  many  others  in  seeking  that  understanding  of  Old  English  furniture  which 
is  all-important  to  those  desirous  of  purchasing  only  genuine  examples 
worthy  of  appreciation  and  acquisition. 

This  book  is  the  outcome,  therefore,  of  a  desire  to  help  the  collector  by 
pointing  out  the  lines  along  which  the  Author  worked  and  which  have  led 
him  to  the  conclusions  presented  in  these  pages,  so  that  the  amateur  may 
begin  his  career  as  a  collector  with  a  certain  knowledge  which  the  author 
ventures  to  think  could  otherwise  only  be  obtained  by  long  experience. 

The  Author  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  all  those  who 
have  so  kindly  permitted  the  illustration  of  pieces  of  furniture  from  their 
collections,  and  especially  to  Mr.  Percival  D.  Griffiths,  who  has  been  more 
than  generous  in  this  respect.  His  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  J.  de  Haan, 
for  some  valuable  information  concerning  recipes  used  by  the  imitator  ; 
to  Mr.  Cooper  of  Messrs.  Cooper  &  Humphries,  for  his  care  and  skill  in 
photographing  most  of  the  examples  illustrated  ;  and,  finally,  to  Mr.  J.  H. 
Elder-Duncan  and  Mr.  J.  Chichele  Plowden,  for  their  suggestions  during  the 
compilation  and  revision  of  the  manuscript. 

R.  W.  SYMONDS. 

Little  Hertford  House, 
off  West  Chapel  Street, 
Mayfair,  London. 

V 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface  .........  v 

Illustrations  ........  xi 

Chapter  I.        Introductory  ......  i 

Chapter  II.      Spurious  Furniture:  The  Imitation  of  Old  Pieces  with 

INTENT   TO   DECEIVE  .  .  .  .  1 3 

Chapter  III.     Furniture  of  the  Oak  Period        .           .  .  .20 

Chapter  IV.      Furniture  of  the  Walnut  Period  .           .  .  -35 

Chapter  V.       Lacquer  Furniture    .           .           .           .  .  .54 

Chapter  VI.     Gesso  and  Gilt  Furniture  .           .           .  .  .61 

Chapter  VII.    Mirrors         .           .           .           .           .  .  .67 

Chapter  VIII.  Furniture  of  the  Early  Mahogany  Period  .  .  74 

Chapter  IX.     Furniture  of  the  Middle  Mahogany  Period  .  .  85 

Chapter  X.      Late  Eighteenth  Century  Furniture         .  .  .96 

Chapter  XI.     Irish  Furniture        .           .           .           .  .  .115 

Chapter  XII.   Continental  Furniture  compared  to  English  .  117 

Chronological  Survey          .           .           .           .           .  .  .119 

Index  ..........  122 

vii 


The  following  are  the  Names  of  the  Owners  from  whose  Collections 
have  been  taken  the  Examples  illustrated  : 


V-/  VJllKZ K.  LlWll 

A. 

H.  R.  Brunt,  Esq. 

B. 

T.  H.  Cobb,  Esq. 

c. 

Percival  D.  Griffiths,  Esq. 

D. 

M.  Harris,  Esq. 

E. 

Patrick.  Hastings,  Esq.,  K.C. 

F. 

The  Hon.  Arthur  Holland-Hibbert. 

G. 

Frederick.  C.  Johnson,  Esq. 

H.  . 

C.  H.  F.  Kinderman,  Esq. 

I. 

Mrs.  W.  J.  Masser-Horniman. 

J. 

W.  M.  Mulville,  Esq. 

K. 

Frank  Partridge,  Esq. 

L. 

Sir  William  Plender,  G.B.E. 

M.  . 

Sir  John  Prestige. 

N 

C   Tj   Kotph  Fsn 

O. 

Author. 

P. 

J.  Thursby  Pelham,  Esq. 

Q.  . 

Various  Owners. 

R. 

The  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 

S. 

t      Arthur  S.  Vernay,  Esq. 

T. 

Hansard  Watt,  Esq. 

U. 

Joseph  Wild,  Esq. 

V. 

Mrs.  T.  D.  Wilson. 

ix 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


(The  numbers  given  in  this  Index  are  those  of  the  Figures  and  not 
of  the  pages  on  which  they  appear.) 

ARMCHAIR:  Beech,  42;  Elm,  41;  Mahogany,  43,  64,  82,  90;  Oak,  6,  11; 

Satinwood,  102  ;  Walnut,  1,  18,  40,  65. 
BOOKCASE  :  Wing  Mahogany,  84,  99. 
BUREAU  :  Mahogany,  35  ;  Walnut,  32,  33,  34,  44. 
BUREAU  WRITING  CABINET.    See  «  Cabinet." 
CABINET  :  Bureau,  Mahogany,  83  ;  Walnut,  31,  36. 

„         Lacquer,  on  stand,  48,  49. 

„  Lacquer  Writing,  50. 

„         Mahogany,  66. 
CANDLE  STAND  :  Mahogany  Tripod,  85,  86,  87. 

CARD  TABLE  :  Lacquer,  30  ;  Mahogany,  93,  112  (Irish)  ;  Walnut,  29,  45. 
CELLARET  :  Mahogany,  116  (Irish). 

CHAIR  :  Single,  Mahogany,  62-63,  89  ;  Walnut,  15,  16,  19,  20,  21,  37. 

„       Arm.    See  "Armchair." 
CHEST  :  Oak,  3. 
CHEST-ON-STAND  :  Walnut,  38. 
CHEST-WITH-DRAWERS  :  Oak,  7. 
CLOCK  :  Long  Case,  Lacquer,  24  ;  Marquetry,  22,  23. 
COFFEE  TABLE  :  Mahogany  Tripod,  69,  70. 
COFFER  :  Oak,  3. 

COMMODE  :   Mahogany,  97,   98  ;  Satinwood  and  Harewood,   107  ;  Satinwood 

painted,  106. 
CONSOLE  TABLE  :  Mahogany,  68. 
CUPBOARD  :  Corner  Walnut,  39. 
„  Court  Oak,  io,  12. 

„  Dole  Oak,  2. 

DAY-BED  :  Walnut,  17. 

xi 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

DRESSER  :  Oak,  13,  14. 

DUMB  WAITER  :  Mahogany  Tripod,  72. 

GESSO  WORK:  56. 

MARQUETRY  :  Long  Case  Clocks,  22,  23. 

„  Framed  Mirror,  52. 

MIRROR:  With  Glass  Borders,  51;  with  Carved  Gilt  Frame,  53,  54,  55;  with 

Marquetry  Frame,  52. 
READING  STAND  :  Mahogany  Tripod,  91. 
SCREEN  :  Mahogany  Tripod  Pole,  73,  74. 

SETTEE:  Mahogany  Chair-back,  60,  61,  81,  100;   Mahogany  upholstered,  101  ; 

Walnut  Chair-back,  46. 
SETTLE  :  Oak,  8. 
SIDEBOARD:  Mahogany,  no. 

STAND  :  For  Lacquer  Cabinet,  48,  49  ;  Gilt  Gesso,  56. 

STOOLS  :  Beech,  painted,  25,  27  ;  Mahogany,  79,  80,  114  (Irish)  ;  Walnut,  26,  28. 
TABLE  :  Card,  Lacquer,  30  ;  Mahogany,  93,  112  (Irish)  ;  Walnut,  29,  45. 

„        Centre,  Mahogany,  94. 

„        Coffee,  Mahogany,  69,  70. 

„        Console,  Mahogany,  68. 

„        Dining,  Mahogany,  71,  in. 

„        Dressing,  Mahogany,  92,  95,  96  ;  Satinwood,  108  ;  Walnut,  47. 
„        Drawer-top,  Oak,  4. 
Long,  Oak,  5. 

„        Side,   Carved  and  Gilt,  57  ;  Deal,  58  ;  Gilt,  104  ;  Mahogany,  59,  67, 
105,  113  (Irish)  ;  Oak,  9  ;  Painted  and  Gilt,  109  ;  Satinwood  painted, 
103  ;  with  Marble  Top,  57,  58,  59,  104,  105. 
„       Tripod,  Mahogany,  75,  76,  77,  78,  115  (Irish). 
TALLBOY  :  Mahogany,  88. 
WRITING  CABINET.    See  «  Cabinet." 


Xll 


OF 


THE   PRESENT  STATE 
OLD    ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTORY 

THE  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries  saw  English 
domestic  furniture  attain  its  highest  level  of  achievement  and  artistic 
development.  It  is,  therefore,  of  pieces  made  during  these  three 
hundred  years,  from  1500  to  1800,  that  the  collector  should  seek  to  acquire 
genuine  and  "  untouched "  examples.  Furniture  of  an  earlier  date  than 
1500  he  is  not  likely  to  meet  with,  and  by  1800  the  standard  of  design  had 
begun  to  decline,  although  certain  of  the  late  eighteenth  century  designs 
continued  into  the  nineteenth  century,  and,  along  with  English  Empire 
furniture,  may  be  included  as  worthy  of  consideration. 

Only  within  the  last  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  has  the  furniture  of  our 
forefathers  received  the  attention  and  appreciation  due  to  its  merits.  Yet  its 
comparatively  recent  study  has  already  produced  an  extensive  literature, 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  historical  and  chronological  surveys,  reviews  of  the 
progress  of  design,  and  theoretical  treatises  assigning  certain  styles  or 
examples  to  particular  craftsmen  or  designers,  whose  names  are  better  known 
than  their  definite  influence  and  activities.  Details  of  the  lives  of  the  old 
cabinetmakers  and  designers,  which  would  have  been  helpful  in  determining 
their  individual  merit  and  influence,  are  very  scanty  or  entirely  lacking  ; 
and,  unfortunately,  their  contemporaries  in  literature  are  strangely  silent 
concerning  them  and  their  works.  In  the  absence  of  definite  data,  therefore, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  modern  writers  are  often  ruled  by  personal  pre- 
dilection when  discussing  the  old  designers  ;  and,  in  consequence,  some 
craftsmen  have  been  accorded  a  status  and  influence  in  regard  to  the  furniture 
a  1 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


of  their  time  that,  in  the  light  of  the  latest  researches,  appears  misplaced  or 
open  to  question. 

In  a  guide  to  the  collector,  such  as  this  book  aspires  to  be,  controversy 
as  to  the  exact  influence  of  this  or  that  designer  or  cabinetmaker  is  of 
less  moment,  however,  than  the  consideration  of  the  old  furniture  as  it 
exists  and  appears  to-day  ;  and  in  furtherance  of  this  belief  an  attempt  has 
been  made  in  the  following  pages  to  assist  the  collector  in  forming  his 
judgment  on  pieces  he  may  come  across,  and  to  show  him  how,  by  training 
his  powers  of  observation  and  deduction,  he  should  be  able  to  discern 
important  qualities  and  features  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  just  assessment  of 
their  artistic  and  material  value.  For,  in  the  final  test  of  purchasing,  he 
must  depend,  not  on  the  printed  page  or  on  labels  affixed  by  others,  but  on 
his  own  critical  faculties. 

In  a  brief  survey  of  the  general  characteristics  of  old  English  furniture 
as  it  is  to-day,  it  may  be  helpful  to  consider,  first,  what  is  implied  by  the 
terms  "  genuine "  and  "  untouched,"  advanced  in  the  first  paragraph  as 
qualifications  of  the  pieces  which  the  collector  should  seek  to  acquire.  To 
show  the  significance  of  these  terms  it  is  necessary  to  put  forward  three 
governing  factors,  applicable  to  all  old  furniture,  in  the  following  order  : 

A.  Colour  and  surface  condition  of  the  wood. 

B.  Design,  proportion,  and  ornamentation. 

C.  Quality  of  workmanship. 


COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

The  colour  and  surface  condition  of  the  wood  are  of  supreme  im- 
portance, as  they  constitute  one  of  the  principal  safeguards  against  the 
imposition  of  spurious  pieces,  and  it  is  essential,  therefore,  that  the  collector 
should  realise  what  they  are  and  understand  how  they  have  been  produced. 
The  rubbing  and  dusting  of  old  bronzes  over  a  long  period  of  time 
produces  a  beautiful  surface  effect  called  "  patina  "  ;  and  old  furniture,  by 
the  same  processes,  acquires  a  surface  condition  that,  to  the  connoisseur, 
constitutes  its  greatest  asset,  and  makes  it  worthy  alike  of  his  attention  and 
possession.  The  similarity  of  appearance  between  the  "  patina "  on  old 
bronze  and  the  rich  metallic  lustre  on  good  specimens  of  old  oak,  walnut, 
and  mahogany  furniture  has  led  to   the  general  adoption  of  the  word 

2 


COLOUR  AND  SURFACE  CONDITION 


"  patina "  as  descriptive  of  surface  condition  on  old  furniture,  and  it  is  so 
used  throughout  this  book. 

Good  patina  is  no  prerogative  of  what,  originally,  were  the  finest  and 
most  expensive  pieces  :  a  simple  piece  of  cottage  furniture  may  be 
equally  endowed  with  a  fine  surface  condition.  But  to-day  so  greatly  does 
the  possession  of  good  patina  dominate  the  mind  of  the  advanced  collector, 
that  he  may  readily  prefer  a  simple  piece  with  a  fine  patina  to  an  important 
piece  without  it.  The  merits  of  old  furniture  are  not  confined  to  good 
proportion,  beauty  of  form  and  line,  excellence  of  workmanship.  Such 
virtues  a  piece  of  new  furniture  could  boast  when  it  first  left  the 
maker's  hand  ;  and  a  skilful  craftsman  in  these  days  could  produce  articles 
possessing  all  these  qualities.  The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  fine  old 
pieces,  as  found  to-day — the  property  which  renders  them  more  beautiful 
and  valuable  than  when  originally  made — is  the  patina  that  the  processes 
of  time  and  human  care  can  alone  have  given  them.  All  pieces  of  antique 
furniture  in  an  original  "untouched  "  condition,  i.e.  with  a  surface  untreated 
in  any  way  save  by  the  ordinary  operations  of  household  dusting  and 
polishing,  will  have  a  patina,  the  quality  of  which  will  depend  on  the 
amount  of  the  rubbing,  polishing,  dusting,  and  handling  they  have  received 
during  their  lifetime.  It  is  through  atmospheric  influence  and  the  effect 
of  domestic  care  and  cleaning  that  the  old  pieces  have  changed  their 
appearance  since  they  left  the  workshop,  where  their  freshly-cut  raw  surfaces 
had  been  treated  with  a  simple  dressing  of  either  linseed  oil  or  beeswax. 

Exposure  to  the  air  gradually  hardens  the  surface  of  the  wood,  and 
also  changes  its  colour,  so  that  oak  turns  in  time  to  a  rich  dark  tone, 
the  yellow  shades  of  walnut  assume  a  more  golden  hue,  and  the  red 
tinge  of  mahogany  is  mellowed  into  tawny  shades  of  brown.  Dust  and 
dirt,  escaping  the  duster  and  polishing-cloth  on  the  more  inaccessible 
cornices  and  mouldings  and  in  the  backgrounds  and  interstices  of  carvings, 
adhere  to  the  polish  and  harden  into  the  pores  of  the  wood,  so  that  they 
cannot  later  be  rubbed  off ;  and  these  dark  parts  contrast  with  the 
projecting  portions  of  carving  and  mouldings  on  which  no  dust  or  dirt 
has  been  allowed  to  remain. 

The  continual  polishing  and  the  materials  used  for  the  polishing  have 
also  had  their  share  in  this  hardening  effect.  The  old  oak  furniture  was 
treated  simply  with  raw  linseed  oil,  both  when  originally  made  and 
afterwards  in  household  cleaning.  This  treatment  enriched  the  colour 
of  the  wood  and  helped  to  form  a  hard  surface.    Old  mahogany  table 

3 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


tops  (which  are  not  easily  scratched  to-day)  were  invariably  finished 
with  a  dressing  of  oil,  and  mahogany  furniture  in  general  was  usually 
slightly  stained  to  enrich  and  equalise  the  colour,  and  then  beeswaxed 1  or 
oiled. 

This  modification  of  the  original  colour  of  the  wood  gives  varied 
gradations  of  tone  which,  with  the  patina,  make  a  combination  that  defies 
the  best  efforts  of  the  imitator.  He  cannot  obtain  in  a  few  weeks  or  months  a 
result  which  has  taken  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  years  of  normal 
existence  to  achieve.  The  colour  and  patina  of  genuine  furniture,  when 
understood,  constitute  the  collector's  greatest  protection  against  spurious 
imitations. 

The  individual  vicissitudes  of  old  pieces  necessarily  differ  so  much  that 
the  quality  of  colour  and  surface  condition  to-day  vary  very  greatly,  intro- 
ducing a  factor  that  may  go  far  to  make  or  mar  material  value.  If,  for 
instance,  on  leaving  the  workshop,  an  old  piece  was  put  away  and  never  used, 
it  would  not  possess  the  patina  that  has  been  described,  although  changes 
would  have  occurred  in  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  years  by  the  ordinary 
process  of  the  wood  maturing  and  changing  its  colour.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  the  piece  that  has  continued  in  the  possession  of  the  same 
family,  receiving  every  possible  protection  and  care.  Between  these  two 
extremes  of  neglect  and  attention  it  will  be  apparent  that  there  are  many 
variations  of  treatment  and  influence  to  which  old  pieces  have  been  sub- 
jected during  their  long  existence,  and  these  have  a  profound  effect  on  their 
present  condition  and  value.  Unfortunately,  all  genuine  old  furniture  has 
not  come  down  to  us  in  an  untouched  condition.  About  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  a  great  quantity  of  furniture  of  the  preceding  centuries 
was  ruined  by  the  French  polisher  at  the  instance  of  the  owners,  who  pre- 
ferred a  highly  polished  surface  to  the  mellow  patina  of  the  untouched  piece. 
Before  the  French  polish  could  be  applied  it  was  necessary  to  clean  off  the 
original  surface  by  a  solvent  ;  and  the  patina  thus  destroyed  was  replaced  by 
a  cold,  impenetrable,  glassy  surface,  filling  up  and  obscuring  the  grain  and 
figure  of  the  wood  and  giving  an  even  deadness  of  colour. 

The  French  polishing  referred  to  was  done  openly  with  the  idea  of 
renovating  the  old  furniture,  and  must  not  be  confused  with  the  more  subtle 
use  of  this  polish  in  the  modern  method  of  imitating  genuine  patina,  to 
which  reference  will  be  made  later.    The  effect  of  French  polish  is  one  that 

1  The  beeswax  and  turpentine,  so  largely  used  for  polishing  in  the  households  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
came  into  general  use  when  turpentine  was  imported  from  the  East  on  a  commercial  scale. 


PATINA 


neither  age,  atmosphere,  nor  rubbing  will  alter  ;  and  pieces  so  treated  are 
not  worthy  of  the  collector's  notice.  To  the  raw  surface  of  the  wood  on 
which  it  must  be  applied,  the  French  polish  acts  as  a  protective  coat  against 
all  influences  of  time  and  atmosphere,  so  that  it  has  a  definite  and  fixative 
effect  on  the  colour  of  the  piece.  If  the  French  polish  is  removed,  and  the 
raw  surface  of  the  wood  thus  exposed  is  rubbed  and  beeswaxed,  in  the  course 
of  time  it  will  gradually  acquire  a  fresh  patinated  surface,  similar  to  the 
patina  of  old  untouched  pieces  of  to-day  ;  but  this  result  will  not  be 
obtained  until  many  years  have  elapsed. 

How  French  polish  depreciates  the  value  of  old  furniture  may  be 
exemplified  by  an  instance  from  a  recent  auction  sale.  A  pair  of  mahogany 
chests  of  drawers  of  identical  design  and  workmanship  were  put  up  for  sale. 
One,  however,  of  a  dark  nut-brown  colour  was  in  its  original  condition  ;  the 
other,  which  had  been  French  polished,  was  a  light  tawny  yellow.  But  for 
the  polishing,  they  would  to-day  have  been  identical  in  appearance  and 
value.  Yet,  while  the  untouched  chest  fetched  thirty  guineas,  the  French 
polished  one  was  sold  for  fourteen  guineas,  or  less  than  half. 

This  goes  to  prove  how  important  the  question  of  surface  condition  and 
colour  is  to  the  collector,  who  buys  not  only  from  the  point  of  view  of  taste, 
but  also  from  that  of  investment.  Yet,  despite  its  importance,  it  has  received 
very  casual  attention  in  the  majority  of  books  on  old  furniture.  Even  a  piece 
of  bad  proportion  with  coarse  carving  and  poor  workmanship  may  be  saved 
from  inferiority  by  the  possession  of  good  patina  and  colour.  Naturally  the 
fact  of  its  design  and  poor  workmanship  will  depreciate  it,  but  the  quality  of 
the  patina  would  make  the  piece  of  more  interest  to  the  collector  than  if  the 
qualities  were  reversed,  and  while  possessing  good  proportion,  fine  carving, 
and  excellent  workmanship,  the  surface  condition  and  colour  were  bad 
through  renovation  at  the  hands  of  the  French  polisher.1  In  comparison 
with  workmanship,  patina  must  be  adjudged  the  more  important  factor.2 

1  Although  foremost  in  the  work  of  destruction,  the  French  polisher  was  not  the  only  destroyer  of  patina. 
Pieces  are  found  to-day  heavily  coated  with  thick  mastic  varnish,  obscuring  the  grain  and  colour  of  the  wood, 
and  forming  a  surface  impossible  to  patinate,  however  much  it  is  rubbed  and  polished.  These  pieces  were 
probably  "  renovated  "  before  French  polish  was  introduced. 

2  As  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  convey  in  words  the  appearance  of  good  patina  or  colour  on  any 
particular  wood,  occasion  has  been  taken,  when  dealing  later  with  the  various  classes  of  furniture,  to  indicate 
examples  possessing  good  patina  and  colour  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London,  which  the  collector 
may  study,  and  so  form  mental  impressions  by  which  to  compare  other  examples  that  come  before  him. 


5 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 

The  standard  of  design,  proportion,  and  ornamentation  in  old  English 
furniture  was  generally  high,  sometimes  mediocre,  and  very  seldom  bad. 
These  qualities  together  constitute  an  important  factor  from  the  collector's 
point  of  view  ;  but  he  will  find  excellence  in  this  respect  less  rare  than  the 
possession  of  good  patina,  since  that  depends  only  on  age  and  care,  while 
any  merit  under  this  heading  has  been  possessed  by  a  piece  since  it  was  first 
made. 

There  are,  of  course,  degrees  in  these  qualities  determined  by  the 
original  standard  of  a  piece  in  cost  and  importance.  The  furniture  of  such 
a  designer  as  Robert  Adam,  made  to  his  drawings  by  an  expert  cabinet- 
maker like  Chippendale,  was  produced  for  his  very  rich  clients,  and  the 
question  of  cost  was  not  a  primary  consideration.  The  ornamentation  was 
lavish,  and  the  highest  quality  workmanship,  whether  in  carving,  inlaying, 
veneering,  or  decorative  painting,  was  employed  in  its  production.  So  the 
collector  will  find  that,  in  all  periods,  there  were  several  grades  of  furniture. 
The  highest  was  intended  for  the  nobility  and  wealthy  classes,  and  made 
often,  to  a  special  design,  of  the  most  costly  material  in  use  at  the  time,  and 
by  the  most  skilled  workmen.  The  other  grades  were  produced  in  a 
descending  scale  of  value,  as  regards  ornamentation  and  material,  to  suit  the 
incomes  of  various  classes  of  customers.  Although  there  are  one  or  two 
exceptions  to  this  rule  of  original  cost  governing  present  value,  the  same 
standard  of  value  in  regard  to  these  pieces  holds  good  to-day. 

One  turns  on  the  question  of  dimensions.  Small  examples  of  old 
furniture  are  always  more  highly  prized  and  valued  than  large  examples  of 
the  same  article.  A  small  walnut  bureau  bookcase,  for  instance,  measuring 
2  ft.  in  width,  is  more  valuable  than  one  3  ft.  6  in.  in  width.  A  sideboard 
measuring  4  ft.  is  more  valuable  in  comparison  than  one  of  6  ft.  The 
houses  of  our  forefathers  had  larger  rooms  generally  than  those  of  modern 
houses,  and  the  dimensions  of  furniture  were  therefore  on  a  proportionate 
scale.  Small  pieces  of  furniture  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries 
were,  therefore,  an  exception,  and,  in  addition  to  their  being  more  suitable 
for  the  requirements  of  to-day,  are  appreciated  for  their  rarity.  This  is  not 
to  say  that  fine  pieces  of  large  dimensions  are  depreciated  in  value  merely 
on  account  of  their  size,  but  that  pieces  of  smaller  dimensions  than  the 
general  run  fetch  a  higher  proportionate  price.    The  value  of  an  old  piece 

6 


PROPORTION 


depends,  too,  not  only  on  excellence  in  design  and  workmanship,  and  on 
the  wood  employed  for  its  construction,  but  on  the  nature  of  the  article. 
Fashions  in  furniture  have  changed  with  the  years,  and  articles  that  were 
required  and  largely  used  by  our  forefathers  are  no  longer  in  vogue.  For 
instance,  the  architect's  table,  of  which  numbers  were  made  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  is  of  little  domestic  use  to  the  collector  ;  and  furniture  made  for 
bedrooms  is  not  so  interesting  to  him  as  pieces  suitable  for  display  in  re- 
ception rooms.  This  question  of  use  or  disuse  is  an  important  factor  in 
the  appreciation  of  the  discerning  collector,  and  often  exercises  an  arbitrary 
influence  on  the  prices  of  to-day  compared  with  those  of  the  past. 

Other  points  for  the  attention  of  the  collector  may  be  more  briefly 
noted.  Not  every  individual  is  gifted  with  a  sense  of  proportion  ;  only  to 
some  is  it  given  to  be  able  to  detect  good  and  bad  proportion  at  first  sight. 
The  collector  not  so  gifted  should  study  all  the  good  examples  that  he  can, 
and  even  make  note  of  the  dimensions  of  their  respective  parts,  for  he  must 
be  able  to  discern  any  inconsistency  or  clumsiness  in  design  and  find  a  satis- 
factory explanation  of  it  before  passing  a  favourable  judgment.  Apart  from 
any  question  of  aesthetics,  the  detection  of  bad  proportion  in  a  piece  may 
lead  to  the  discovery  of  a  spurious  reconstruction. 

In  assessing  the  value  of  a  design,  it  may  be  taken  as  an  axiom  that  the 
main  constructional  lines  should  never  be  obscured  or  attenuated  in  effect  by 
carving  or  any  other  decoration  ;  and  with  fine  old  pieces  of  good  design 
it  will  invariably  be  found  that  the  main  constructional  lines  impress  them- 
selves on  the  eye  before  the  decoration  is  noticed. 

Much  of  the  old  furniture  designers'  success  lay  in  the  fact  that  they 
set  out  first  to  design  a  piece  of  furniture  to  supply  a  human  want,  and  then 
considered  how  it  might  be  improved  and  beautified  by  decoration.  They 
followed  one  of  the  most  important  tenets  of  the  craft  by  decorating  a  con- 
struction instead  of  constructing  a  decoration.  Their  embellishment  of  a 
piece,  whether  by  mouldings,  flutings,  or  carving,  was  always  subservient, 
therefore,  to  the  purpose  and  the  construction  of  the  article.  In  judging  a 
design,  the  collector  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  decorative  motifs  employed 
should  first  of  all  be  in  consonance  with  that  of  the  style  or  period  of  which 
the  piece  appears  to  be  an  example  ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  execution  and 
quality  of  the  carving  should  be  typical  of  the  workmanship  of  the  time  ; 
and,  lastly,  that  the  decoration  should  convey  its  due  effect  of  enrichment. 
Over-ornamentation,  by  not  leaving  sufficient  plain  surfaces  to  act  as  a  foil, 
defeats  its  object. 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


The  collector  should  endeavour  to  obtain  pieces  which  are  not  only 
perfect  as  regards  genuineness  and  surface  condition,  but  which  have  also  a 
certain  amount  of  character  or  individuality  not  found  in  ordinary  specimens. 
This  question  of  character  applies  not  only  to  the  costly  piece  made  for  the 
nobility,  but  also  to  the  piece  made  originally  for  the  farmhouse  or  cottage. 
A  piece  possessing  one  or  two  features  that  are  unusual  is  not  only  more 
esteemed,  but  is  of  greater  intrinsic  value  ;  and  it  is  the  acquisition  of  such 
pieces  of  unusual  character  that  proclaims  the  collector  of  taste  and  discern- 
ment. Individuality  is  a  marked  characteristic  of  old  English  furniture, 
probably  because  many  of  the  finest  pieces  were  produced  to  special  order  ; 
and,  certainly,  because  articles  were  not  turned  out  by  scores  to  one  pattern 
as  under  modern  commercial  methods.  And  as  there  were  no  stereotyped 
designs,  examples  even  of  the  same  period  will  exhibit  considerable  differ- 
ences in  their  dimensions,  form,  treatment,  and  decoration. 


WORKMANSHIP 

Quality  of  workmanship  in  the  consideration  of  old  furniture  embraces 
the  standard  of  cabinetwork  shown  in  the  construction  of  a  piece,  and  the 
quality  of  the  carving  or  other  ornamentation  employed  for  its  decoration. 
In  judging  a  piece  in  either  respect,  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  period  in 
which  the  piece  was,  or  appears  to  have  been,  made.  Methods  of  con- 
struction during  the  three  hundred  years  of  production  with  which  this 
book  deals  were  progressive  in  refinement  ;  and  as  both  the  cabinetwork 
and  the  ornamentation  were,  to  a  large  extent,  particular  and  different  in 
the  case  of  each  wood,  it  has  been  found  more  convenient  to  deal  with  the 
details  affecting  the  quality  of  workmanship  in  the  respective  chapters 
following,  to  which  reference  should  be  made.  The  collector  should  not, 
however,  lose  sight  of  the  general  statement  as  to  quality  of  workmanship 
affecting  present-day  value,  on  which  special  emphasis  has  been  laid  in  the 
previous  notes  dealing  with  "  design  and  ornamentation." 

The  questions  of  seasoning  and  shrinkage  are  of  special  importance  in 
their  effect  on  furniture  of  all  woods.  The  abnormal  consumption  of 
timber  at  the  present  day  permits  of  little  time  being  given  to  the  necessary 
preparation  of  the  wood,  and  various  processes  have  been  devised  artificially 
to  shorten  the  operation.  In  the  eighteenth  century  timber  would  not  be 
used  until  eight  or  ten  years  after  the  trees  had  been  felled.    The  Dutch 


QUALITY  OF  WORKMANSHIP 


laid  their  trees  in  water  with  their  heads  up  for  a  period  of  two  years  until 
all  the  sap  had  been  driven  out.  Mahogany,  which  originally  came  to  us 
as  ballast  for  ships  in  the  West  India  trade,  was  felled  in  the  backwoods 
near  the  streams  and  rivers  of  Central  America  and  rolled  into  the  water  to 
drift  down  stream.  Months  often  passed  before  it  reached  the  coast,  this 
prolonged  immersion  forming  a  valuable  part  of  the  seasoning  process. 

The  technical  processes  of  seasoning  will  not,  perhaps,  be  of  special 
interest  to  the  collector  ;  but  he  should  understand  that  wood  is,  in  the 
words  of  an  expert,  "  always  working,"  and  is  peculiarly  liable  to  atmospheric 
and  temperature  influence,  even  after  being  made  up  into  furniture.  A 
plank,  in  the  course  of  years,  will  shrink  both  in  width  and  thickness,  but 
not  in  its  length,  which  is  the  direction  of  its  grain.  Walnut  shrinks  most, 
and  oak  probably  next  in  order.  This  shrinkage  has  to  be  allowed  for  by 
the  cabinetmaker,  and  necessitates  the  adoption  of  particular  methods  of 
construction.  Drawer  bottoms,  for  instance,  were  originally  made  larger 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  necessary,  and  when  inserted  were  glued  at 
the  front  but  not  at  the  back,  to  allow  for  the  contraction  which  would 
naturally  take  place.  Where  shrinkage  has  not  been  allowed  for,  defects 
may  often  be  found  in  old  pieces  to-day.  In  the  late  eighteenth  century, 
when  furniture  was  often  designed  by  men  who  were  not  cabinetmakers, 
shrinkage  was  not  so  fully  considered.  The  ends  of  "  Sheraton  "  type  side- 
boards are  often  found  cracked,  as  also  are  the  tops  of  fine  satinwood  pieces, 
such  as  tables.  In  the  walnut  veneered  bureaux,  the  fall  flap  was  constructed 
of  a  centre  panel  framed  in  on  the  two  ends  by  cramp  pieces  with  the  grain 
running  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  of  the  panel.  An  examination  of 
the  side  cramps  will  often  show  them  to  project  up  to  T]6  in.  beyond  the  edge 
of  the  panel,  the  panel  having  shrunk  across  the  grain,  the  side  cramps 
preserving  their  original  length.  Cracks  will  also  show  in  the  veneer  over 
the  joints  of  the  panels  and  cramps.  The  tops  of  oak  refectory  tables  are 
often  found  with  a  gap,  sometimes  £  in.  wide,  between  the  planks  of  which 
they  are  made.    This  also  is  due  to  shrinkage  across  the  grain. 

Carving1  can  be  done  as  well  to-day  as  in  the  eighteenth  century,  but 
the  treatment  is  not  so  sure,  since  the  modern  carver  follows  no  tradition. 
The  modern  commercial  factory  method  of  confining  a  workman  to  one 

1  For  many  details  of  construction  and  of  the  quality  of  carving  as  it  affects  furniture  of  the  various  woods, 
reference  should  be  made  to  the  chapters  dealing  with  them  ;  also,  for  points  of  constructional  interest,  which, 
for  reasons  of  space,  cannot  be  duplicated  in  these  general  notes  on  workmanship,  to  the  notes  following  on 
spurious  furniture. 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


branch  of  his  work  is  a  great  hindrance  to  an  all-round  knowledge  of  carving. 
One  workman  may  devote  his  whole  time  to  fruit,  flowers,  and  birds,  in  the 
naturalistic  style  of  Grinling  Gibbons,  while  another  spends  his  days  in 
turning  out  carved  mouldings.  The  same  drawback  applies  also  to  the 
cabinetwork,  in  spite  of  the  better  tools  and  woodwork  machinery  now 
available.  The  old  cabinetmaker,  turning  out  a  piece  in  its  entirety,  and 
overcoming  by  his  skill  the  deficiencies  of  his  tools,  perforce  put  more  of  his 
own  personality  into  his  piece,  and  personality  is  the  great  factor  in  success, 
whether  displayed  in  the  man  or  his  work. 

Compared  with  old  furniture,  the  modern  often  loses  by  its  unerring 
accuracy.  The  Greeks  counteracted  a  defect  to  the  human  eye  by  slightly 
curving  the  lines  of  the  Parthenon  that  were  to  appear  straight  ;  and 
machine-cut  moulding,  for  analogous  reasons,  may  lose  its  effect  compared 
with  that  cut  by  the  plane  of  the  eighteenth  century  workman.  The  expert 
woodcutter  can  detect  machine-cut  moulding  by  the  marks  left  on  it,  which 
are  troublesome  to  eradicate.  A  conscientious  cabinetmaker  would  first  wet 
the  machine-cut  moulding,  then  glass-paper  it  and  repeat  the  process  ;  but 
commercial  costings  seldom  permit  so  much  time  to  be  spent  over  the  work. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  old  cabinetmakers  worked  with 
tools  that  were  markedly  inferior  to  those  of  the  present  day,  both  as 
regards  number  and  quality.  Veneers  that  were  cut  with  the  saw  to  a 
thickness  of  ^  in.  can  now  be  cut  speedily  with  a  knife  to  ^  in.  The  old 
lathe  was  primitive  in  its  conception  beside  the  modern  appliance,  and  its 
tendency  to  an  elliptical  plunge  in  turning  had  fo  be  counteracted  by  the 
skill  of  the  workmen.  Mouldings  were  wrought  by  hand  instead  of  by 
machine,  and  the  carver's  chisels  were  fewer  in  number  and  less  well 
tempered  than  they  are  to-day.  The  wonderful  results  achieved  by  the 
eighteenth  century  cabinetmaker  therefore  are  an  unfailing  tribute  to  his 
skill.1 

CHRONOLOGICAL  DATA 

To  the  enthusiastic  collector  every  item  of  information  concerning  his 
hobby  will  be  of  interest,  but  the  dates  when  particular  craftsmen  lived  and 

1  The  craft  of  the  cabinetmaker  was  not  generally  recognised  until  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  prior  to  which  there  had  been  much  rivalry  between  the  joiners  and  the  cabinetmakers  as  to  their 
respective  merits  in  the  production  of  furniture.  Even  as  late  as  1740,  Batty  Langley's  books  contain  diatribes 
against  the  cabinetmakers  of  the  day  for  the  inferiority  of  their  work  ;  and  many  of  the  furniture  makers  were 
described  as  joiners  or  "  upholders  "  in  the  London  Directory  and  other  books  of  reference. 

IO 


CHRONOLOGICAL  DATA  OF  IMPORTANCE 


flourished,  or  produced  catalogues  of  designs,  may  be  of  less  concern  than  an 
indication  of  the  period  in  which  certain  woods  were  in  vogue  for  the  best 
and  most  expensive  furniture,  or  the  approximate  dates  at  which  various 
articles  were  first  made  or  came  into  fashion,  or  certain  motifs  of  design 
came  into  and  went  out  of  use.  There  are  certain  dates  in  the  histories  of 
Fine  and  Applied  Arts  which  cannot  be  lightly  disregarded  ;  and  in  the 
study  of  old  furniture  the  memorising  of  certain  chronological  facts  may 
save  the  collector  from  a  mistake,  or  may  be  of  material  assistance  in  judging 
the  genuineness  of  the  pieces  which  he  finds.  For  the  assistance  of  the 
collector,  therefore,  a  table  has  been  compiled  of  dates  of  the  more  im- 
portant events  and  developments  in  the  history  and  design  of  old  English 
furniture,  and  this  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

The  old  craftsmen  were  conservative  people,  and  slow  to  initiate 
startling  innovations,  confining  their  efforts  more  to  developments  in  the 
design  of  the  existing  article.  New  articles  appeared  mostly  in  fulfilment 
of  a  definite  order  from  some  rich  or  aristocratic  patron  ;  and  until  the 
other  well-to-do  members  of  contemporary  society  demanded  similar  articles 
in  sufficient  numbers,  such  pieces  would  hardly  be  produced  to  form  part 
of  the  ordinary  stock-in-trade.  This  will  explain  in  some  measure  why 
certain  types  of  articles  are  to-day  very  rare  and  difficult  to  acquire. 

The  insistent  demand  by  collectors  for  articles  in  a  wood  or  style 
of  a  period  prior  to  the  date  when  they  were  first  introduced  is  a  direct 
provocation  to  the  production  of  spurious  examples  which  may  result 
eventually  in  their  own  undoing.  The  moral  follows,  that  a  collector 
should  never  seek  to  acquire  articles  of  a  date  prior  to  that  at  which  they 
came  into  vogue  ;  and  that  close  scrutiny  not  unmixed  with  suspicion  should 
be  exercised  upon  such  pieces  if  in  style  or  material  they  appear  to  be  of  an 
earlier  period. 

So  far  as  significance  is  attached  to  the  word  "  period  "  in  this  book,  it 
indicates  the  years  in  which  any  particular  wood  was  used  for  the  best  pieces 
of  furniture.  From  Tudor  to  late  Stuart  days  oak  enjoyed  this  distinction. 
In  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary  it  gave  place  to  walnut,  which  in  the 
time  of  George  i.  was  displaced  by  mahogany.  But  the  introduction  of  a 
new  wood  did  not  immediately  close  down  the  production  of  furniture  in 
the  material  it  superseded  or  in  other  cheaper  woods.  The  use  of  oak  for 
furniture  has  continued  from  mediasval  times  to  the  present  day,  when,  in 
point  of  fact,  it  is  more  largely  used  than  ever. 

1 1 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


PRESENT  CONDITION 

The  condition  of  old  furniture  as  it  is  found  to-day  demands  the  con- 
sideration of  the  collector,  because  it  may  determine  the  desirability  of  pur- 
chasing. In  the  course  of  two  hundred  years  or  more,  furniture  has,  naturally, 
suffered  from  wear  and  bad  usage  ;  and  the  collector  will  find  pieces  in  all 
states  of  repair  or  disrepair,  so  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  to  judge 
whether  a  piece  is  not  too  far  gone  to  purchase.  It  should  be  a  cardinal 
rule  to  purchase  only  pieces  which  are  in  an  untouched  condition.  But  the 
collector  should  also  make  a  point  of  not  adding  to  his  collection  any  piece 
of  which  there  is  an  important  member  missing,  such  as  the  leg  or  flap  of  a 
table  and  leg  or  arm  of  a  chair,  even  though  there  is  a  reduction  in  the 
price.  It  is  better  to  pay  a  higher  price  to  secure  a  complete  article. 
Missing  members  can  be  replaced,  but  if  the  remainder  of  the  piece  has  a 
good  colour  and  patina,  it  will  be  impossible  to  bring  the  restored  parts  up 
to  the  level  of  the  old.  Missing  mouldings  or  pieces  of  veneer,  if  small,  can 
often  be  replaced  by  a  careful  repairer  so  that  they  are  hardly  noticeable. 
The  collector  will  generally  find  that  the  pieces  of  old  furniture  he  comes 
across  have  been  repaired  or  restored  before  he  sees  them.  He  has  not, 
therefore,  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  exactly  what  is  original  and  what  is 
new,  and  must  rely  on  his  knowledge  and  judgment  to  avoid  buying  a  piece 
with  a  new  leg  or  a  new  arm.  By  training  his  powers  of  observation,  he 
will  be  able  to  detect  any  serious  restoration  carried  out  on  a  piece  offered 
to  him,  and,  by  studying  surface  condition,  patina,  and  workmanship 
minutely,  be  able  to  tell  exactly  what  repairs  have  been  effected  since  a  piece 
was  made,  and  also  to  detect  any  restorations  which  are  not  in  keeping  and 
harmony,  or  of  the  same  period  as  the  original  parts. 

Note. — To  preserve  and  improve  the  patina  on  old  pieces  of  furniture,  there  is  no  better  polish  than  the 
old-fashioned  beeswax  and  turpentine.  The  various  special  preparations  sold  to-day  for  furniture  polishing 
contain  chemicals  that,  if  not  actively  injurious  to  the  old  patina,  in  no  way  assist  it  like  the  beeswax  polish, 
for  the  latter,  though  slower  in  process,  is  more  lasting  in  its  effects. 


12 


CHAPTER  II 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE  :  THE  IMITATION  OF  OLD 
PIECES  WITH  INTENT  TO  DECEIVE 

I 

APART  from  any  question  of  sentiment,  the  collector  should  recognise 
that  in  buying  a  spurious  piece  he  is  simply  paying  for  the  cost  of 
labour  and  material  at  present  prices,  with  a  large  profit  added  on  ; 
and  that  for  his  money  he  obtains  an  article  that  will  not  be  so  well  made 
and  will  not  possess  the  quality  of  workmanship,  patina,  or  beauty  of  line  of 
the  genuine  piece.  In  short,  he  acquires  a  purely  commercial  article  which 
is  neither  a  work  of  art  nor  a  rarity. 

To  reproduce  old  specimens  of  furniture  for  frank  sale  as  reproductions 
is  a  legitimate  commercial  enterprise,  and  no  concern  of  a  work  which  is 
devoted  solely  to  the  consideration  of  genuine  old  examples.  But  the 
imitation  of  old  pieces  with  intent  to  deceive  is  a  matter  that  obviously 
demands  the  collector's  attention,  and  is  accordingly  dealt  with  at  some 
length  throughout  these  pages.  The  reproducer  naturally  devotes  his 
attention  to  those  specimens  or  particular  types  which  are  rare,  costly,  and 
in  great  demand,  as  the  value  of  these  alone  affords  sufficient  financial 
margin  to  repay  with  profit  the  trouble  and  expense  to  which  he  is  put. 
The  ways  in  which  the  imitation  of  an  old  piece  may  be  attempted  are  dealt 
with  more  particularly  in  the  consideration  of  the  articles  themselves  ;  but, 
in  general,  spurious  pieces  made  to  deceive  may  take  any  of  the  following 
forms  : 

A.  Imitations  of  entirely  new  construction. 

B.  Imitations  made  up  partly  of  genuine  old  pieces  with  additions 

or  restorations  carried  out  in  new  or  old  material,  usually 
the  latter. 

C.  The  carving  of  plain  but  genuine  old  pieces  to  increase  their 

value. 

13 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


D.  The  transformation  of  genuine  old  pieces  or  parts  of  such  pieces 
into  articles  of  much  higher  value  by  amalgamation  with 
other  genuine  old  articles  or  parts  of  them. 

II 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  genuine  patina  cannot  be  reproduced  by 
artificial  processes,  and  that  it  constitutes  the  principal  safeguard  against  the 
imposition  of  spurious  pieces.  In  devising  spurious  pieces  the  efforts  of  the 
imitator  are  mainly  directed  to  obviating  or  minimising,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  difficulties  of  patinating  surfaces.  For  this  reason  the  capable  man, 
aiming  at  deception,  would  not  work  in  any  but  old  material.  Then,  how- 
ever, he  is  faced  with  the  difficulty  of  concealing  all  evidence  of  its  previous 
use.  Old  oak  floor  boards  used  for  the  top  of  a  spurious  refectory  table  will 
have  the  original  nail-holes  at  regular  intervals,  and  these  have  to  be  filled 
up  and  disguised.  A  mahogany  bookcase,  recently  examined,  had  unusual 
scratches  and  some  ink-stains  on  the  sides  which  showed  that  the  wood  had 
once  formed  part  of  a  Victorian  table  top.  Unexplainable  nail-holes  or 
joinings  in  carcase  work  will  generally  disclose  prior  use  for  another  purpose. 
It  can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  while  the  use  of  old  material,  where  not  cut, 
may  obviate  some  of  the  difficulties  of  patinated  and  unpatinated  surfaces,  it 
will  not  avoid  all  of  them. 

Old  oak  beams  and  planks  have  the  right  colour  and  surface  condition 
for  unexposed  surfaces,  such  as  the  undersides  of  table  tops,  underframing 
and  stretchers,  or  for  the  insides  of  cupboards.  But  the  exposed  sur- 
faces and  any  cut  edges  or  new  carving  will  require  a  patinated  surface. 
Similarly,  an  old  mahogany  table  top  may  be  cut  up  to  form  the  sides  of  a 
bookcase,  which  will  have  the  genuine  patina  of  the  old  top  ;  but  here  again 
the  cut  edges  and  any  new  carving  will  require  treatment.  For  faked 
veneered  pieces  new  veneer  must  be  used,  since  the  transfer  of  veneer  from 
an  old  carcase  to  a  new  one  would  involve  damaging  or  destroying  its 
patina.  It  might  be  possible  to  remove  veneer  from,  say,  an  old  walnut 
chest  of  drawers  and  utilise  it  for  a  smaller  piece  ;  but  it  is  very  seldom 
attempted.  Spurious  pieces  usually  have  new  veneer.  Old  oak,  deal,  or 
pine  would,  however,  be  used  for  the  new  carcase  and  for  any  drawers  it 
possessed. 

There  are  various  ways,  more  or  less  effective,  of  imitating  the  right 

14 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 


colour  of  old  furniture  in  the  various  woods,  and  probably  every  producer  of 
spurious  pieces  has  his  particular  recipe.  The  best  colour  on  oak  is  obtained 
by  the  use  of  lime,  although  potash  salts  are  sometimes  employed  to  get  a 
dark  colour.  Steeping  the  wood  in  a  solution  of  washing  soda,  Brussels 
earth,  bichromate  of  potash,  and  ammonia,  is  another  method,  but  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months  this  occasions  a  bloom  or  mould  on  the  surface,  due 
to  the  soda  working  out.  Mahogany  may  be  merely  stained,  and  walnut 
treated  with  lime  like  the  oak  ;  but  walnut,  mahogany,  and  satinwood  are 
generally  coloured  by  the  use  of  nitric  acid,  which  is  stopped  and  removed 
by  subsequent  washing  with  a  solution  of  washing  soda.  An  improved 
method  of  using  the  acid  involves  first  boiling  it,  and  during  this  operation 
a  small  quantity  of  a  secret  ingredient  is  introduced.  Ammonia  is  good  for 
colouring  veneers  when  used  in  a  fume  cupboard,  as  it  will  then  colour  them 
right  through.    It  will  stain  oak  and  mahogany,  but  not  walnut. 

The  requisite  colour  having  been  obtained,  the  next  step  is  to  imitate 
the  genuine  patina  on  exposed  surfaces,  particularly  on  the  newly-cut 
raw  surfaces  which  have  an  open  grain.  To  fill  up  the  grain  and  obtain 
the  hard  bronze-like  appearance  of  patina,  French  polish  is  employed.  The 
method  followed  is  not  the  ordinary  commercial  method  of  rilling  up  the 
grain  with  plaster  of  Paris  and  then  applying  the  polish — which  would  give 
the  piece  a  bleached  appearance  ;  nor  is  it  a  straightforward  polishing  by 
which  a  high  gloss  is  left,  as  such  a  piece  would  be  disdained  by  the 
advanced  collector.  The  parts  to  be  patinated  are  coated  with  French 
polish  in  which  dirt  or  colouring  matter  is  mixed,  so  as  to  produce  the 
light  and  shade  effects  already  described  in  Chapter  I.  Better  results  are 
obtained  by  treating  the  surface  with  linseed  oil  before  applying  the 
French  polish,  the  oil  being  left  on  for  a  day  and  the  surface  afterwards 
thoroughly  rubbed  down  to  remove  every  trace  of  it  ;  but  the  imitator 
seldom  goes  to  the  trouble  of  this  preliminary  oiling.  After  the  application 
of  the  French  polish  the  whole  is  "  brushed  down  "  with  pumice-stone  and 
oil  to  remove  the  high  gloss  and  to  dull  the  appearance.  The  surface  is 
then  beeswaxed,  and  dirt  is  introduced  into  the  wax  to  simulate  the  natural 
dark  tone  in  the  interstices  of  the  carving  of  a  genuine  piece  caused  by  the 
gradual  accumulation  of  dust.  Mouldings  are  treated  in  the  same  way. 
The  wax  is  then  left  to  harden.  This  stained  or  dirtied  wax  can  be  scratched 
or  removed  with  the  finger  nail,  or  even  rubbed  off,  and  its  presence  is  a  sure 
sign  of  a  faked  surface.  The  interiors  of  drawers  and  cabinets  are  stained 
and  dirtied  to  give  them  an  appearance  of  age.     Being  unpatinated  they  are 

l5 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


more  difficult  to  imitate  than  the  exposed  surfaces.  Old  drawer  sides  and 
bottoms,  obtained  from  pieces  in  too  dilapidated  a  state  to  repair,  will  some- 
times be  used  for  making  drawers  of  a  spurious  piece,  so  careful  examination 
should  be  made  to  discover  any  newly  cut  edges  (which  will  be  disguised 
by  rubbing  down  and  staining).  The  runners  of  the  drawers  should  also  be 
examined  for  signs  of  wear,  as  it  is  very  difficult  to  reproduce  this.  The 
imitator  errs  in  simulating  age  in  these  unexposed  parts  by  signs  of  dirt 
and  not  by  signs  of  wear. 

It  is  surprising  how  clean  and  fresh-looking  are  the  interiors  of  the 
drawers  and  cabinets  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  This 
appearance  the  imitator  fails  to  reproduce.  Sometimes  the  difficulty  of  giving 
the  appearance  of  age  to  the  interiors  of  cabinets  is  overcome  by  painting 
them  in  oil-colour,  generally  green  or  brown.  Drawers  are  sometimes 
pasted  over  with  old  newspapers  or  with  a  blue  paper,  it  having  been  a 
fashion  of  the  time  to  line  drawers  in  this  way  ;  yet  another  practice  is  to 
spill  ink  inside  the  drawers,  especially  those  of  a  bureau. 


Ill 

The  troubles  over  patina  are  greatly  reduced  in  another  kind  of  spurious 
article,  produced  by  "carving-up"  genuine  old  pieces  to  increase  their  value, 
a  finely  carved  piece  being  naturally  of  greater  value  than  a  plain  one.  This 
carving  is  largely  adopted  for  oak  and  mahogany  furniture.  In  this  direc- 
tion the  imitator  has,  unfortunately,  a  large  field  for  his  energies  ;  the  fact 
that  he  has  an  old  surface  to  work  upon  obviates  the  use  of  new  material, 
and  some  very  elaborate  deceptions  are  the  result  of  his  handiwork.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  newly  carved  surface  will  have 
an  open  grain,  which  must  be  filled  up  with  wax  and  dirt,  and  the  surface 
doctored  with  colouring  matter,  to  get  the  new  portions  the  same  colour  as 
the  old.  Careful  examination  in  a  strong  light  of  a  piece  thus  tampered  with  will 
show  up  the  variations  in  the  colour  of  the  new  and  old  parts,  owing  to  the  inability 
of  the  imitator  to  disguise  his  work  completely. 

The  close  inspection  of  carving  should  be  directed  also  not  only  to 
determine  the  quality  of  the  workmanship,  but  to  see  whether  it  is  in  keeping 
with  the  design  of  the  piece  and  with  the  period  of  which  it  is  supposed  to  be 
an  example.  And  in  regard  to  all  carved  work  very  careful  attention  should 
be  paid  to  the  wear  of  the  carving.    The  imitator,  in  the  effort  to  simulate 

16 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 


age,  gives  his  carving  a  worn  or  rounded  effect  all  over  ;  but  in  genuine 
work  it  will  be  found  that  while  some  of  the  more  prominent  parts  of  the 
carving  through  long  handling  have  become  blunted,  other  and  less  promi- 
nent parts  are  as  crisp  and  sharp  as  when  originally  executed.  This  unequal 
wear  of  the  carving  is  very  noticeable  when  compared  with  the  level, 
worn  appearance  of  the  imitation.  To  give  an  appearance  of  age  to  his 
carving,  the  imitator  usually  brushes  down  oak  carving  with  a  hard  metal 
brush  and  mahogany  carving  with  a  soft  wire  brush.  Glass-paper  is  also 
freely  used,  although  genuine  old  carving  was  never  treated  in  this  way. 
He  cannot  spare  time,  however,  to  consider  carefully  what  parts  of  the 
carving  would  naturally  be  worn  in  the  course  of  time  and  what  parts 
would  preserve  their  pristine  sharpness,  and  to  treat  each  accordingly. 

IV 

Unless  he  produces  an  exact  replica  of  an  old  piece,  the  maker  of 
spurious  furniture  invariably  commits  some  solecism  in  the  proportion  or 
design  of  his  wares.  He  is  torn  between  the  desire  to  turn  out  a  passable 
sham  antique  and  the  desire  to  increase  its  selling  possibilities  by  making 
it  of  small  dimensions  to  suit  the  rooms  of  to-day,  or  else  a  little  unusual 
or  unique  ;  so  that  it  appears  of  greater  value  than  the  general  run  of  such 
articles. 

Not  only  will  he  err  in  his  over-all  dimensions,  but  in  the  size  of  the 
doors,  the  spacing  of  the  legs,  the  proportion  of  a  top  to  its  stand  and  of 
width  to  height,  he  will  usually  blunder  badly.  He  will  also  jumble  up  his 
styles  of  decoration  and  use  late  eighteenth  century  decoration  on  a  mid- 
eighteenth  century  piece.  It  is  only  by  careful  study  of  genuine  pieces  that 
the  collector  will  become  familiar  with  the  general  proportions  peculiar 
to  each  period  ;  and  will  then  be  quick  to  note  any  piece  that  is  not  in 
harmony  with  his  impressions  of  furniture  design  in  the  respective  woods. 

The  popular  belief  that  worm-holes  are  introduced  into  faked  furniture 
by  firing  small  shot  at  it,  is  one  that  dies  hard.  Certainly  it  may  have 
been  done  in  the  past,  but  it  is  a  method  that  is  seldom  if  ever  resorted  to  at  the 
present  day.  The  advanced  collector  would  prefer  genuine  furniture  without 
this  sign  of  supposed  age,  for  he  realises  that  a  piece  affected  by  the  worm  is 
being  slowly  depreciated  both  in  strength  and  value  ;  and  also  that  eradicat- 
ing the  worm  is  extremely  difficult  and  involves  such  radical  measures  of 
b  17 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


treatment  as  will  probably  destroy  the  patina,  thus  depreciating  the  value  of 
the  piece.  The  imitator  is  hardly  likely,  therefore,  to  simulate  a  condition  that 
may  diminish  the  value  of  his  wares.  But  in  touching  on  the  question  of 
worm-holes,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  imitator  in  turning  a  bulbous  leg,  say, 
out  of  an  old  oak  beam,  has  been  known  to  cut  through  a  worm  burrow,  not 
sectionally  but  longitudinally,  and  this  long  tunnel  of  the  worm  appearing  on 
the  surface  has  to  be  filled  up  with  wax  for  its  concealment.  Sooner  or  later  the 
filling  sinks  in  or  falls  out,  this  minute  defect  serving  to  disclose  the  whole 
deception  ;  as,  naturally,  worm-holes  on  genuine  pieces  would  only  show 
the  round  orifice  on  the  surface  and  not  the  long  burrowing  into  the  interior. 
This  applies  to  oak,  walnut,  and  also  to  old  deal,  when  the  latter  is  used  for 
carcase  work.  The  collector  should  always  be  wary  of  any  piece  that  shows 
a  worm-hole  longitudinally  on  its  surface,  or  on  the  carcase  work  inside. 

The  faking  of  metal  work  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter.  Iron  lock 
plates,  straps,  hinges,  etc.,  for  oak  pieces  will  quickly  become  rusted  and  pitted, 
if  buried  in  common  salt.  Brass  mounts  can  acquire  an  antique  appearance 
in  a  single  night  if  shut  up  in  a  box  of  mahogany  shavings  saturated  with 
sal  ammoniac.  They  come  out  green,  but  are  of  an  antique  colour  when 
rubbed  up.  New  handles  and  other  mounts  can  sometimes  be  detected  by 
the  screws  used  to  secure  them.  Old  screws  were  cut  by  hand  with  the  file, 
and  show  an  uneven  spiral  very  different  from  the  regular  angular  thread 
cut  by  a  modern  machine.  It  is  inevitable,  however,  that  many  genuine 
old  pieces  will  have  lost  some  of  their  mounts  ;  and  the  restoration  of  these, 
if  well  made  and  of  pattern  for  the  piece,  will  not  depreciate  its  value. 

Apart  from  a  critical  examination  to  detect  fakes,  details  of  which  are  set 
out  in  regard  to  various  articles  in  succeeding  chapters,  there  is  one  test  that  can 
be  immediately  applied.  Genuine  patina  is  always  warm  to  the  touch  ;  while  faked 
patina  is  invariably  cold  to  the  hand.  This  coldness  is  attributable  to  the  French 
polish  used.  Wood  is  naturally  warm  to  the  touch,  but  any  glaze,  such  as 
French  polish,  applied  to  it  has  the  same  effect  as  that  of  glass,  and  strikes 
cold  in  comparison.  The  same  difference  in  warmth  may  be  experienced  be- 
tween carved  wood  and  composition  ornament  applied  to  the  surface  of  wood. 

Resilience  in  a  piece  is  another  simple  test.  A  genuine  old  piece  will 
invariably  give  a  little  under  stress.  A  chair  when  sat  in  or  a  table  when 
pressed  down  will  give  a  little  or  rock  slightly  and  then  gather  itself  together, 
as  it  were,  and  firmly  resist  further  pressure.  This  is  due  to  slight  shrinkage 
at  the  joints.  During  a  long  existence  the  mortice  and  tenon  or  dovetail 
joints  shrink  and  become  slightly  loose,  so  that  a  sudden  stress  will  cause 

18 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 


them  to  give  a  little  and  produce  a  sensation  of  springiness  ;  but  a  newly 
constructed  piece  if  picked  up,  pressed  down,  or  dragged  across  the  floor  will 
always  be  hard,  rigid,  and  unyielding,  since  the  joints  are  still  fresh  and  have 
not  shrunk.1  This  is  an  example  where  the  question  of  the  shrinkage  of 
wood  helps  the  collector  to  detect  a  spurious  piece. 

In  succeeding  chapters  will  be  found  particulars  of  other  tests  based  on 
shrinkage,  which  may  be  applied  for  the  discovery  of  spurious  furniture. 
Signs  of  shrinkage  in  an  old  piece  are  a  further  proof  of  its  genuineness, 
such  as  the  cracking  of  the  veneer  in  panels  of  wardrobes,  bookcases,  etc., 
particularly  in  walnut  and  late  eighteenth  century  furniture,  caused  by  the 
shrinkage  of  the  carcase  on  which  it  is  glued.  In  some  faked  furniture, 
however,  this  effect  of  shrinkage  does  not  appear,  either  because  old  wood, 
which  has  already  shrunk,  is  employed  ;  or  because,  the  piece  being  new, 
defects  due  to  shrinkage  have  not  had  time  to  develop. 

Another  rough  test  turns  on  weight,  but  is  not  so  certain.  Old  pieces 
are  invariably  much  heavier  than  modern  pieces  of  similar  size  and  design  ; 
and  old  pieces  of  satinwood,  especially  if  solid,  like  chairs,  are  often 
surprisingly  heavy  when  picked  up. 

In  examining  furniture  nothing  helps  the  collector  more  than  the  strong 
light  of  day.  In  artificial  light  it  is  very  difficult  to  perceive  gradations  of 
colour  which  in  daylight  can  be  observed  with  ease.  The  difference  in  the 
colours  of  the  wood  of  old  and  new  parts,  and  the  differences  in  their  surface 
condition  are  more  easily  discerned  in  full  daylight,  and  the  efforts  of  the 
copyist  to  mask  restored  parts  by  staining  the  wood  will  then  become 
apparent. 

1  Occasionally,  of  course,  an  old  piece  in  a  rickety  condition  may  have  been  taken  to  pieces  and  glued 
up  afresh.  But  this  would  be  an  exceptional  case,  and  the  test  is  a  good  one  for  furniture  of  all  woods,  except 
large  pieces,  such  as  bookcases,  to  which  it  cannot  well  be  applied. 


10 


CHAPTER  III 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  OAK  PERIOD 

i 500-1700 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY:  (*)  GOTHIC 

FROM  a  study  of  illustrations  of  French  and  Italian  contemporary 
interiors,  and  of  the  finely  made  and  carved  pieces  of  furniture  of  other 
nations  which  have  survived  from  the  same  period,  it  is  clear  that  English 
domestic  equipment  of  the  fifteenth  century  lagged  far  behind  that  of  the 
Continent.  Authorities  on  English  mediaeval  life  agree  that  only  in  the 
Royal  palaces,  the  castles  of  the  nobility,  and  the  monastic  houses  was 
furniture  of  any  pretensions  to  be  found,  and  this  was  of  a  crude  character, 
made  by  carpenters,  and  sufficing  only  for  the  simplest  needs.  Purely 
Gothic  in  design  and  inspiration,  this  pre-Renaissance  oak  furniture  com- 
prised chests,  coffers,  hutches  or  movable  cupboards,  the  early  and  simple 
form  of  buffet,  tables  of  the  trestle  type,  beds,  benches,  and  stools. 

Even  chairs  were  rare,  and  regarded  more  as  an  attribute  of  high  estate 
than  as  ordinary  articles  of  domestic  use  ;  and  not  more  than  one  or  two,  for 
the  use  of  the  lord  and  his  lady,  would  be  found  in  a  great  household.  The 
low  standard  of  domestic  comfort  was  a  reflex  of  the  hard  life  and  coarse 
manners  of  the  day  ;  and  latent  hostilities,  and  the  waters  of  the  English 
Channel,  barred  any  ameliorating  influence  which  could  have  resulted  from 
closer  intercourse  with  the  more  refined  and  civilised  standards  of  the 
Continental  peoples. 

This  Gothic  oak  furniture  can  only  possess  an  historical  interest  for  the 
collector,  since  examples  of  it  are,  to-day,  practically  unprocurable.  The 
few  existing  pieces  to  be  found  in  museums  and  private  collections  are  seen 
in  two  different  conditions,  one  showing  the  wood  in  a  natural  dry  and  un- 
polished state,  and  the  other  having  a  polished  and  patinated  surface. 
It  is  probable  that  all  this  early  oak,  following  the  usual  treatment  of  wood- 
work of  the  time,  was  originally  decorated  in  bright  colour,  and  this 

20 


RENAISSANCE  OAK  FURNITURE 


supposition  is  borne  out  by  some  of  the  existing  pieces  still  having  traces  of 
colour  discernible  on  them.  But  the  colour,  having  been  applied  mostly  in 
the  form  of  tempera,  has  perished  or  worn  away,  leaving  the  wood  in  the 
dry  unpolished  state  in  which  it  is  now  seen.  Those  pieces  with  a  patinated 
surface  probably  acquired  it  after  the  colour  had  disappeared. 


(b)  RENAISSANCE 

When  the  Turks  captured  Constantinople  in  1453,  tne  Greeks,  with 
their  classical  learning  and  traditions,  fled  to  Italy,  where  the  highly 
trained  craftsmen,  ripe  for  fresh  inspiration,  quickly  adopted  the  ideas  of  the 
refugees.  From  Italy  the  classical  influence  spread  rapidly  to  Burgundy, 
Spain,  and  France,  for  the  fugitive  Greek  workmen  and  their  apt  pupils 
sought  work  where  they  could,  and  thus  spread  the  new  movement. 
During  twenty-four  years'  exile  in  France,  Henry  vn.  of  England  had  ample 
opportunity  to  become  conversant  with  the  "  new  learning  "  and  the  greater 
domestic  comfort  and  refinement  of  that  country  ;  and,  on  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  he  brought  over  Italian  and  Burgundian  workmen  to  build  his 
palaces  at  Sheen  and  Molesey.  Sheen  is  said  to  have  been  built  in 
"  Burgundian  style,"  but  nothing  now  remains  of  either  dwelling.  It  is 
probable  that  much  of  the  furniture  used  for  them  was,  like  their  style, 
imported  from  abroad.  The  influx  of  foreign  workmen  and  motifs  of 
design  had  a  material  effect  on  native  taste,  just  as  the  classical  study  under- 
lying the  Renaissance  affected  learning  everywhere.  But  the  new  influence 
permeated  English  design  very  slowly,  probably  because  most  of  the 
skilled  workmen  were  enrolled  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Building  Guilds  of  the 
monastic  houses  and  were  steeped  in  the  Gothic  tradition.  It  was  not  until 
the  following  reign  that  the  renaissance  in  classical  design  began  to  move 
perceptibly. 

The  vanity  of  Henry  vm.  led  him  into  a  competition  of  extravagance 
and  splendour  of  state  with  his  near  neighbour,  Francois  1.  of  France  ;  and, 
like  his  father,  by  liberal  offers  of  pay,  he  attracted  foreign  workmen  to  this 
country  for  the  further  embellishment  of  his  palaces  and  the  building  of  the 
new  one  of  Nonesuch.  The  Royal  example  in  house  building  and  domestic 
luxury  excited  a  spirit  of  emulation  among  the  great  nobles,  who  com- 
menced building  and  furnishing  new  dwellings  on  a  lavish  scale,  employing 
the  designers  and  craftsmen  who  had  been  working  for  the  king. 

21 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

The  value  of  genuine  old  oak  furniture  depends  largely  on  its  patina, 
colour,  and  carving.  The  patina  should  be  hard  and  lustrous  ;  the  colour 
should  be  a  dark  rich  brown,  turning  to  a  tone  nearly  black  in  the  crevices  of 
the  mouldings  and  the  background  of  the  carving,  by  reason  of  the  harden- 
ing of  the  dust  and  oil  in  these  parts.  This  effect  of  the  darker  parts  acting 
as  a  setting  to  the  lighter  portions  is  a  prominent  feature  of  a  piece  with  a  good 
patina.  As  mentioned  in  Chapter  I,  the  dark  colour  and  hard  surface  of  oak 
are  mainly  due  to  the  use  (prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  beeswax  polish) 
of  raw  linseed  oil,  both  for  the  first  dressing  and  subsequent  household 
polishing. 

Many  pieces  of  oak  of  the  Elizabethan  and  seventeenth  century  periods 
are  found  to-day  with  their  surfaces  coated  with  a  thin  transparent  varnish. 
It  is  rather  a  moot  point  whether  the  varnish  was  applied  long  after  the 
piece  was  made  or  whether  it  was  done  by  the  maker  after  the  surface  had 
first  received  a  dressing  of  oil.  The  former  seems  more  probable,  as  these 
varnished  pieces  appear  to  have  a  certain  accumulation  of  dirt,  formed  by 
age,  under  the  varnish,  thus  showing  that  it  could  not  have  been  applied 
when  the  piece  was  new.  The  effect  of  this  varnish  is  not  detrimental  to 
the  patina  ;  if  anything,  it  has  helped  to  enrich  it,  and  therefore  it  must  not 
be  confused  with  the  thick,  treacly  variety  mentioned  in  Chapter  I.1 

DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 

English  oak  furniture  separates  itself  rather  naturally  into  two  phases. 
The  earlier,  or  Tudor  phase,  often  exhibiting  lingering  traces  of  the  Gothic 
tradition  (as  in  the  linen-fold  panel,  which  persisted  up  to  about  1560), 
shows  a  progressive  advance  in  quality  and  achievement  from  the  time  of 
Henry  vm.  until  it  reached  its  greatest  development  in  the  later  period  of 
Elizabeth's  reign.2    The  second  phase  (seventeenth  century  oak  furniture) 

1  As  an  example  of  good  colour  and  patina  in  oak,  the  court  cupboard  W  32,  191 3,  in  the  Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum,  South  Kensington,  may  be  studied. 

2  The  Elizabethan  furniture  makers,  hampered  by  lack  of  tradition  and  experience  in  dealing  with  Renais- 
sance forms  of  decoration,  turned  for  inspiration  to  the  Low  Countries,  where  the  Flemish  Renaissance  had 
then  reached  its  fullest  development.  One  of  the  most  famous  Flemish  designers,  Hans  Vredemann  de  Vries, 
published  in  1 580  a  collection  of  his  designs  of  furniture,  gardens,  fountains,  armour,  gold  and  silver  work,  etc.  A 

22 


WORKMANSHIP 


shows  an  equally  progressive  decadence  from  the  reign  of  James  i.  to  that 
of  William  and  Mary,  when  walnut  came  into  general  vogue  and  oak 
furniture  ceased  to  be  made  except  in  the  country  districts  and  for  the 
cheaper  markets. 

The  decoration  of  oak  furniture  by  carving  is  of  three  varieties. 
Carving  in  relief  is  the  most  valuable  form,  of  which  the  frieze  and  small 
cupboard  doors  on  the  court  cupboard,  Fig.  10,  are  good  examples. 
Arabesque  carving,  as  seen  on  the  frieze  of  the  refectory  table,  Fig.  5, 
is  also  frequently  met  with.  In  this  style  of  carving,  the  design  is  cut 
in  square  with  a  flat  background — the  effect  being  that  of  an  applied  fret — 
and  to  enrich  its  appearance  the  background  is  matted.  The  third  variety 
consists  of  incised  or  shallow  gouged  lines,  usually  in  a  geometrical  pattern  ; 
and  where  this  constitutes  the  only  decoration,  it  was  probably  done  by 
the  joiner  who  made  the  piece  and  not  by  a  carver.  Carving  on  a  genuine 
old  piece  that  is  shallow  and  crudely  done  is  not  a  sign  that  it  is  an  early 
example,  but  rather  that  it  is  a  poor  one  of  country  make. 

Inlaid  marquetry  was  also  a  favourite  method  for  the  decoration  of 
panels,  friezes,  etc.  ;  in  Elizabethan  and  early  seventeenth  century  oak 
furniture,  holly,  sycamore,  and  box-wood  were  the  woods  generally  employed 
for  this  purpose.  This  inlay  was  deeply  cut  and  coarse  in  its  execution, 
architectural,  floral,  arabesque,  and  geometrical  designs  being  those  most  used. 

Pieces  of  oak  furniture  are  sometimes  found  inscribed  with  a  date,  thus 
showing  the  year  they  were  made.  This  feature  naturally  adds  a  considerable 
amount  of  interest  and  value  to  a  piece  and  is  peculiar  to  oak  furniture  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

WORKMANSHIP 

Although  some  sort  of  glue  must  have  been  used  for  inlaid  marquetry 
and  for  the  application  of  applied  mouldings,  bosses,  pendants,  and  split 
balusters,  the  construction  of  oak  furniture  was  mainly  dependent  on  tenon, 
mortise,  and  pegging  without  the  use  of  glue.  Mortises  were  cut  in  the 
uprights  or  stiles,  the  ends  of  the  horizontal  members  or  rails  were  tenoned 
into  them,  and  oak  pegs  were  driven  from  the  outside  through  both.    If  the 

comparison  of  the  English  furniture  of  this  period  with  that  of  the  Low  Countries  will  clearly  show  that  the 
English  craftsmen  freely  copied  and  adapted  these  designs.  And  this  similarity,  which  is  more  in  ornamenta- 
tion than  in  general  form,  also  resulted  from  the  considerable  importation  of  Flemish  furniture  into  this  country 
at  the  same  period. 

23 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


holes  bored  through  the  tenon  were  a  shade  out  of  line  with  those  of  the 
mortise,  it  had  the  object  and  effect,  when  the  pegs  were  driven  home,  of 
drawing  or  forcing  the  tenon  more  tightly  into  the  mortise.  The  spaces 
between  the  stiles  and  rails  were  filled  with  panels  on  accepted  building  lines, 
and  probably  with  the  knowledge  that  this  method  provided  most  suitably 
for  the  inevitable  shrinkage  in  the  wood. 

Drawers  in  furniture  of  the  Oak  period  from  late  Tudor  times  to  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  considerably  later  than  this  in  pieces 
of  country  make,  differed  from  the  later  drawers  in  the  fact  that  they  worked 
on  runners,  fixed  to  the  carcase,  and  sliding  in  grooves  cut  in  the  drawer  sides. 
These  early  drawers  were  made  without  dovetailing,  being  lipped  and  nailed 
together.  The  nails  used  were  of  drawn  iron,  cut  and  pointed  by  the  smith, 
and  entirely  different  from  the  cut  nail  or  brad  in  modern  use. 

SPURIOUS  OAK  FURNITURE 

The  collector  will  have  to  deal  with  a  large  number  of  spurious  pieces 
that  have  been,  and  are  still  being,  made  from  beams,  floor  boards,  etc.,  origin- 
ally belonging  to  old  houses  and  ships.  The  antique  appearance  of  these 
modern  pieces  is  obtained  in  various  ways,  as  briefly  described  in  Chapter  II. 
The  reproduction  of  a  patinated  surface,  however  it  is  done,  usually  results  in 
a  dull  and  lifeless  appearance,  the  colour  being  a  yellowish  brown,  and  in 
some  cases  a  tinge  of  green  being  noticeable.  The  collector  must  learn  to 
distinguish  the  cold,  soft,  waxy  feeling  of  the  spurious  piece  from  the  hard 
metallic  surface  and  rich  lustre  of  the  genuine  example.  Although  these 
spurious  articles  have  at  first  a  more  or  less  passable  imitation  of  the 
genuine  patina,  the  effect  is  only  transitory,  as  stain,  French  polish,  and 
wax  which  are  thickly  coated  on  to  the  wood  will,  in  the  course  of  seven 
or  eight  years,  sink  in  and  perish,  leaving  the  piece  dry  and  bare-looking 
without  a  trace  of  the  antique  appearance  originally  obtained.  Rubbing 
and  beeswaxing  will  not  have  any  effect  on  this  false  patina  or  prevent  its 
premature  decay. 

Spurious  pieces  of  oak  furniture  are  generally  imitations  of  Gothic  and 
Tudor  articles,  as  these,  being  the  most  costly  and  rare,  will  be  the  less 
difficult  to  sell.  The  notes  given  above  refer  only  to  spurious  pieces  with 
a  patinated  surface.  In  the  brief  survey  of  Gothic  furniture  at  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  it  was  mentioned  that  these  very  early  pieces  were  generally 

24 


SPURIOUS  OAK  FURNITURE 


found  to-day  with  the  wood  in  a  dry  and  unpolished  state.  Of  this  fact  the 
imitator  is  well  aware,  and  Belgium  is  mainly  responsible  for  the  importation 
in  a  raw  state  of  many  copies  in  old  oak  of  rare  pieces,  such  as  chests,  stools, 
chairs,  and  tables  elaborately  carved  with  Gothic  ornament.  The  treatment 
of  these  pieces  with  lime  to  obtain  the  grey  colour  of  old  unpolished  oak.  is 
done  after  its  arrival  in  this  country.  Careful  examination  of  these  pieces 
should  reveal  to  the  collector  their  spurious  nature.  The  mere  fact  of 
their  being  Gothic  pieces,  genuine  examples  of  which,  as  previously  stated, 
are  practically  unprocurable,  should  arouse  strong  suspicion  at  once.  These 
pieces,  being  of  foreign  manufacture,  are  ornamented  with  carved  decoration 
of  a  much  more  elaborate  and  flamboyant  character  than  is  found  on  the 
English  furniture  of  the  Gothic  period. 

The  wide  difference  in  value  between  carved  and  uncarved  pieces 
naturally  brings  oak  into  the  category  of  furniture  of  which  the  imitator  seeks 
to  enhance  the  value  by  "  carving-up,"  and  the  collector  must  accordingly  be 
on  his  guard  against  articles  so  treated.  Arabesque  carving  is  generally 
resorted  to  for  this  type  of  deception,  as  it  has  the  important  advantage  that 
the  face  of  the  new  ornament  is  left  with  the  original  surface  ;  only  the  sides 
of  the  design  and  the  background  will  be  freshly  cut.  The  newly  cut  surfaces 
will  then  be  stained  and  dirtied  so  as  to  give  them  every  appearance  of  age. 

The  articles  of  which  spurious  examples  are  most  frequently  made,  and 
details  of  the  methods  adopted  for  making  them,  are  described  in  the  following 
notes. 

Hutches  and  Dole  Cupboards. — The  Gothic  hutch  or  dole  cupboard 
with  pierced  ornaments  on  the  front  and  door  was  crudely  constructed  of 
planks  mortised  and  nailed  together.  The  timber  forming  the  sides  of  these 
pieces  is  roughly  hewn,  and  the  thickness  of  the  wood  may  differ  by  an  inch 
between  the  top  and  the  bottom.  No  great  care  or  skill  is  apparent  in  the 
workmanship,  and  it  is  evident  that  these  pieces,  contrasted  with  the  work  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  were  but  the  first  feeble  efforts  in  the  great  tradition 
of  English  cabinetwork. 

The  dole  cupboard  with  ornaments  of  pierced  Gothic  design  when  found 
to-day  is  usually  spurious.  The  rarity  of  the  genuine  piece  is  an  irresistible 
temptation  to  the  imitator,  who  finds  a  means  to  his  end  in  the  plain  oak 
cupboard  of  the  seventeenth  century,  which,  being  very  similar  in  form  to 

25 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


the  dole  cupboard,  is  easy  to  adapt  to  a  semblance  of  its  more  valuable 
prototype  by  piercing  its  front  with  Gothic  ornamentation. 

Court  Cupboards. — One  of  the  most  important  and  handsome  articles 
of  the  Oak.  period  is  the  court  cupboard.  The  earliest  known  examples  of 
this  piece  of  furniture  date  from  about  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  These  early  specimens,  of  which  only  a  few  are  in  exist- 
ence, show  lingering  traces  of  Gothic  design  in  their  decoration,  such  as  the 
linen-fold  pattern. 

The  court  cupboard  dating  from  the  Elizabethan  period  is  similar  in 
shape  and  form  to  the  example  illustrated  (Fig.  10),  which  dates  from  the 
second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  earlier  examples  the  cornices 
rest  on  carved  bulbous  supports  standing  on  the  platform  formed  by  the  top 
of  the  lower  portion  ;  in  the  seventeenth  century  these  supports  lost  their 
bulbous  form  and  were  replaced  by  plain  turned  ones  of  a  vase  or  baluster 
shape  ;  and  still  later  in  the  seventeenth  century  these  supports  were  omitted 
altogether  and  their  place  was  taken  by  turned  pendants  similar  to  the  two 
examples  shown,  Figs.  10  and  12. 

The  earlier  examples  of  the  court  cupboard  with  carved  bulbous 
supports  are  naturally  the  rarest  and  most  desirable.  The  presence  of  inlaid 
marquetry  of  a  floral  design,  such  as  is  sometimes  found  on  the  cupboard 
doors  or  panels  in  the  upper  portion,  also  adds  considerably  to  the  value  and 
interest  of  a  piece,  while  the  addition  of  carved  terminal  or  caryatid  figures 
is  another  feature  which  makes  a  piece  more  important. 

Another  form  of  court  cupboard  is  called  the  tridarn.  This  has  the 
addition  of  a  hooded  canopy  fitted  to  the  top  and  is  generally  of  Welsh 
origin.  Most  existing  examples  are  either  plain  or  else  decorated  with 
incised  or  crude  carving  showing  that  they  are  of  country  make.  The 
majority  found  to-day  date  from  the  late  seventeenth  century.1  Many  of 
these  tridarns  are  found  carved  with  a  design  composed  of  dragons,  which 
was  a  favourite  Welsh  motif. 

Buffets. — In  addition  to  the  court  cupboard  another  article  of  furniture 
called  the  buffet  was  made,  and,  from  the  examples  now  existing,  buffets 
would  appear  to  date  from  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century  to  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.2     Unlike  the  court  cupboards,  there 

1  The  manufacture  of  tridarns,  with  that  of  other  plain  oak.  furniture,  continued  into  the  eighteenth  century. 

2  These  dates  do  not  include  the  rare  Gothic  cupboard  on  square  legs,  sometimes  called  a  buffet. 

26 


Fig.  2. 


An  oak  Dole  Cupboard,  with  pierced  and  carved  Gothic  decoration. 
Late  I  5th  Century. 

Col.  R. 


BUFFETS  AND  CHAIRS 


do  not  seem  to  have  been  many  buffets  made  after  the  Restoration,  and 
therefore  existing  examples  to-day  are  rare  and  (having  only  been  made 
during  the  best  period  of  oak  furniture)  are  usually  finely  carved  and 
sometimes  decorated  with  inlaid  marquetry. 

In  shape,  the  buffet  is  a  piece  of  furniture  formed  of  two  tiers, 
which  are  upheld  in  the  front  by  bulbous  supports  ;  these  being  after- 
wards altered  to  the  plain  baluster  or  vase-shaped  supports  similar  to 
those  of  the  court  cupboard.  The  upper  tier  has  a  cupboard  with  a 
single  door  set  in  the  middle  ;  the  sides  of  the  cupboard  are  sloped  at  an 
angle  from  the  front  to  the  back.  The  lower  tier  is  an  open  shelf  with 
the  back  usually  left  open,  no  doubt  because  such  pieces  of  this  date 
would  have  been  placed  against  an  oak  panelled  wall.  Sometimes  these 
buffets  are  found  without  the  cupboard,  but  with  a  shelf  like  the  bottom 
portion. 

The  buffet,  being  a  very  difficult  piece  to  find  to-day,  has  received  the 
attention  of  the  maker  of  spurious  furniture,  who  has  produced  many 
elaborate  specimens  with  richly  carved  bulbous  supports  and  finely  carved 
and  inlaid  panels  to  the  cupboard.  Besides  these  spurious  pieces  of  modern 
construction,  there  are  many  reconstructions  of  forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  made 
up  of  pieces  of  old  oak  furniture  which  bear  a  slight  resemblance  in  shape 
to  the  Tudor  or  Jacobean  buffet.  The  top  part  of  these  adaptations  is 
generally  formed  of  an  old  oak  chest  which  is  placed  on  a  stand  with  turned 
legs.  But  the  collector  should  be  able  to  discover  the  character  of  this  kind 
of  "  made  up"  piece  without  much  trouble  or  acumen. 

Chairs. — Oak  chairs  of  the  Gothic  period  are  extremely  rare.  Stools 
and  benches  were  the  usual  form  of  seat,  and  oak  chests  were  also  utilised 
for  this  purpose.  There  are  extant,  however,  a  number  of  oak  armchairs 
of  late  Elizabethan  days,  characterised  by  the  design  and  richness  of  the 
carving  and  by  the  fact  that  the  top  rail  of  the  back  is  between  the  two 
uprights,  whereas,  from  the  reign  of  James  i.  the  top  rail  rested  on  the 
uprights  ;  for  examples  of  this,  compare  the  chair  of  Elizabeth's  reign  (Fig.  6) 
with  the  one  of  the  time  of  Charles  II.  (Fig.  11).  The  cresting  on  the 
top  rail  in  the  early  armchairs  was  small,  but  in  the  seventeenth  century 
it  gradually  increased  in  size,  eventually  having  the  addition  of  ear-pieces 
to  support  it  where  it  overlapped  the  uprights. 

From  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth  a  number  of  single  oak  chairs 
appear  to  have  been  made,  and  they  are  more  plentiful  to-day  than  the 

27 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


armchairs.  Those  generally  found,  however,  date  from  the  Restoration 
period.  The  front  stretchers  and  legs  are  either  decorated  with  knobbed 
turning  in  the  Commonwealth  manner  or,  in  later  specimens,  with  the 
turned  baluster  or  spiral  twist  of  the  Restoration.  The  design  of  the  backs 
of  these  single  chairs  often  indicates  the  locality  in  which  they  were  made. 
The  type,  for  instance,  with  the  colonnade  back,  having  round  arches  with 
inverted  drops  and  the  split  baluster  decoration  on  the  uprights,  was  very 
popular  in  Yorkshire  and  Derbyshire. 

The  accession  of  Charles  n.  saw  the  gradual  introduction  of  chairs, 
stools,  and  day-beds  made  of  walnut  and  beech,  but  this  innovation  did  not 
stop  the  manufacture  of  oak  chairs  and  settles,  as  a  large  number  dating 
from  this  period  have  survived. 

It  should  be  noted  that  all  these  oak  chairs  have  stretchers,  and  if  the 
collector  comes  across  an  example  without  stretchers,  he  should  recognise 
that  they  have  been  lost  and  consequently  the  chair  is  imperfect.  In  such 
cases  the  ends  of  the  legs  have  often  been  cut  off  to  remove  traces  of  the 
mortises  into  which  the  stretchers  were  tenoned. 

Upholstered  furniture  made  its  first  appearance  in  England  in  the  reign 
of  James  i.  So  far  as  the  collector  is  concerned  this  fact  is  only  of  historical 
interest,  for  but  a  very  few  specimens,  in  the  form  of  chairs,  stools,  and 
couches,  have  survived.  This  furniture,  in  its  various  forms,  is  quite  unlike 
the  contemporary  English  furniture.  It  was  either  imported  from  France 
or  was  copied  here  from  French  examples  to  special  orders  given  by  the 
wealthy  nobility.  The  upholstering  was  invariably  carried  out  in  velvet, 
studded  with  large  gilt-headed  nails  and  trimmed  with  gold  or  silver 
fringes  ;  the  legs  and  stretchers  of  the  chairs  and  stools  are  generally  of 
beech  and  sometimes  ornamented  by  painting  or  gilding.  In  some  of  the 
examples  at  Knole,  the  velvet  is  pasted  over  the  entire  frame  of  the  chair  so 
that  no  woodwork  is  visible. 

This  early  Stuart  upholstered  work  seems  to  have  been  an  exotic  phase 
which  died  out,  leaving  no  apparent  effect  on  the  design  of  the  subsequent 
oak  furniture.  It  was  not  until  the  Commonwealth  that  upholstery  again 
made  an  appearance  on  chairs  and  couches.  These  were  upholstered 
with  stamped  or  painted  leather  which  was  stretched  and  secured  to 
the  framework  by  brass-headed  nails.  Like  all  Puritan  furniture,  these 
upholstered  leather  chairs  are  plain  and  severe  in  design  with  low  square 
backs,  the  only  ornamentation  consisting  of  the  turning  to  the  stretchers 
and  legs. 

28 


IS  o 


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a.  o 

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Fig.  9. 


An  oak  Sidetable,  with  carved  bulbous  front  legs. 
Circa  1595. 


Col.  A. 


SETTLES  AND  JOINT  STOOLS 


Settles. — Most  of  the  settles  of  the  Oak  period  that  are  in  existence 
to-day  date  from  the  last  three-quarters  of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  a  typical 
example,  dated  1681,  is  shown  in  Fig.  8.  Sometimes  settles  are  found 
with  movable  backs,  which  can  be  let  down  to  rest  on  the  arms  and 
so  form  a  table.  These  table-settles  in  their  original  condition  are  very 
rare.  They  date  from  the  Cromwellian  period  and  are  known  as  "  Monks' 
Benches."    Chairs  are  also  found  with  the  same  arrangement. 

Joint  or  Coffin  Stools. — Joint  or  "joyned"  stools- of  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century  are  of  Gothic  construction  and  different  in  form 
from  the  stools  of  late  Elizabethan  days,  which  were  of  an  oblong  shape 
with  four  legs  connected  by  stretchers.  This  late  sixteenth  century  type  of 
stool  continued  to  be  made  in  the  same  form  all  through  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  must  have  been  made  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  country 
well  into  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  most  valuable  joint  stools  found  to-day  (with  the  exception  of 
Gothic  specimens,  which  are  of  great  rarity)  are  those  dating  from  the  time 
of  Elizabeth  and  James  1.,  and  these  generally  have  fluted  legs  and  friezes 
decorated  with  carving.  Examples  dating  from  the  Cromwellian  period 
with  plain  turned  legs  and  moulded  or  plain  friezes  are  more  frequently 
found.  The  carved  examples  of  the  earlier  period  have  seven  or  eight  times 
the  value  of  the  later  type,  and  it  is  therefore  of  this  early  stool  that  counter- 
feits are  made  out  of  old  timber.  Many  genuine  joint  stools  have  been 
fitted  with  new  tops,  which  naturally  depreciate  their  value.  To  ascertain 
whether  a  top  is  new,  carefully  examine  its  edges.  For  a  restoration  of 
this  kind,  the  new  top  would  be  made  out  of  an  old  piece  of  oak,  such  as  the 
top  of  an  old  gate  table,  having  the  genuine  patina  ;  but  the  wood  would 
have  to  be  cut,  and  it  is  by  the  staining  and  rubbing  of  the  cut  edges  that  it 
may  be  detected.  Sometimes  these  stools  have  been  made  from  a  dilapidated 
gate  table,  beyond  repair,  which  affords  all  the  necessary  material.  This 
copy  is  of  the  class  in  which  genuine  old  pieces  or  parts  of  pieces  are  trans- 
formed into  articles  of  a  much  higher  value.  Careful  examination  will  show 
the  changes  in  the  original  construction,  as  it  will  be  impossible  to  hide  these 
in  every  particular. 

Stools  are  also  found  with  the  addition  of  oval  tops,  converting  them 
into  small  tables.  These  tops  are  not  part  of  the  original  article,  but  have 
been  added  at  some  later  stage  of  their  existence.  They  are  usually  of  deal 
or  elm  with  two  drop  flaps  which  rest  on  supports  that  pull  out,  and  these 

29 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


supports  are  cut  into  the  frieze,  a  further  proof  that  these  stools  were  not 
originally  made  as  tables. 

Refectory  and  Draw-top  Tables. — The  earliest  form  of  table  was  the 
trestle  table.  This  type  of  table  persisted  throughout  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  few  examples 
which  have  survived  are  of  crude  construction,  long  and  narrow,  the  top 
being  formed  of  three  or  four  roughly  hewn  planks  fixed  on  to  two  or  three 
trestle  supports  according  to  the  length. 

The  trestle  table  was  followed  by  the  draw-top  table.  This  was  the 
favourite  type  of  table  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  a  good  example  is 
illustrated  in  Fig.  4.  In  this  table  a  leaf  is  drawn  out  at  each  end  from 
under  the  top  centre  leaf,  so  as  to  extend  the  length  of  the  table  when 
required  ;  on  the  side  leaves  being  drawn  out  the  centre  leaf  drops  to  the 
same  level.  This  invention  was  copied  from  the  contemporary  Flemish 
tables. 

Draw-top  tables  are  generally  found  with  the  bulbous  legs  of  the 
Elizabethan  period  ;  but  in  the  next  reign  this  type  was  superseded  by  the 
table  with  the  fixed  top  and  plain  turned  legs  of  a  baluster  or  vase-shape 
design  (Fig.  5).  These  tables  with  the  fixed  tops  which  were  not  capable 
of  enlargement  were  made  sometimes  with  six  or  eight  legs  according  to 
their  length.  Another  variation  in  design  between  the  earlier  and  later 
tables  is  that  the  former  have  their  stretchers  T-shaped  in  section,  whilst 
the  later  examples  have  a  square,  four-sided  stretcher  similar  to  the  tables 
illustrated. 

Tables  with  fixed  top  and  plain  baluster  legs  were  made  throughout  the 
seventeenth  century  and  genuine  specimens  exist  in  considerable  numbers 
to-day.  The  most  valuable  are  those  with  a  carved  frieze  on  all  four  sides, 
thus  showing  that  they  were  meant  to  stand  in  the  centre  of  a  room  ;  more 
often,  however,  they  are  found  with  the  frieze  carved  on  one  side  only, 
denoting  they  were  originally  meant  to  be  used  as  side  tables.  Naturally  the 
former  are  the  more  valuable,  and,  for  this  reason,  many  genuine  side  tables 
have  in  recent  years  had  carved  friezes  added  to  the  three  plain  sides. 

It  is  the  Elizabethan  draw-top  table  with  carved  bulbous  legs  and  an 
inlaid  or  carved  frieze  that  is  rare,  and  genuine  examples  are  to-day  few  and 
far  between  ;  on  the  other  hand,  spurious  tables  of  this  type  are  numerous 
and  widespread.  In  these  imitations  the  bulbous  legs  are  often  seen  with 
wide  cracks  due  to  the  timber  splitting  ;  this  is  not  a  sign  of  age,  but  rather 

30 


An  oak  court  Cupboard,  decorated  with  carving  in  conventional  design,  and  split  baluster  ornaments,  bosses,  and 
applied  mouldings.  The  carved  terminal  figures  each  side  of  the  centre  panel  of  the  upper  part  portray  a  man  and  a 
woman  with  their  hair  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the  time.  These  figures  probably  represented  the  original  owner  of 
the  cabinet  and  his  wife. 

Circa  1 660. 

Fig.  10.  Col.  I. 


TABLES 


an  indication  of  new  turning  worked  out  of  an  old  oak  beam.  The  tops  are 
often  made  from  old  oak  floor  boards,  in  which  case  careful  examination  will 
disclose  nail-holes  at  regular  intervals.  On  a  genuine  top,  gaps  should  show 
between  the  planks  owing  to  shrinkage  of  the  wood  over  a  long  period ;  and 
in  the  absence  of  these  gaps  suspicion  should  be  aroused.  The  Elizabethan 
table  illustrated  in  Fig.  4  has  a  considerable  gap  between  the  planks 
which  in  recent  years  has  been  filled  in  with  a  strip  of  wood.  Spurious  tops 
often  have  a  rough  and  uneven  surface  ;  and  the  veins  of  the  wood  appear  to 
stand  out  in  relief.  This  is  due  to  the  softening  of  the  fibre  between  the 
veins  or  year  rings  of  the  wood  by  alkalies  used  for  obtaining  the  old  colour  ; 
and,  when  the  subsequent  brushing  down  with  a  steel  brush  was  done,  this 
softened  fibre  was  worn  away,  leaving  the  veins  projecting.  The  surface  of 
a  genuine  top  with  a  good  patina  is  generally  smooth.  Another  reason  why 
the  veins  appear  so  prominent  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  soft  porous  fibres 
are  altered  in  colour  by  the  stain,  but  the  veins  remain  unaffected  by  it. 
The  end  grain  of  the  cut  edges,  too,  will  show  a  grey  colour,  however  much 
they  are  rubbed  or  stained. 

In  spurious  examples,  the  appearance  of  wear  on  the  stretchers  is 
generally  done  very  irregularly  and  made  as  deep  on  the  inside  of  the 
stretcher  as  on  the  outside.  In  genuine  pieces  the  wear  will  be  found  to 
be  deeper  on  the  outside  than  on  the  inside  edge,  and  the  line  of  wear  will 
be  more  regular. 

Many  genuine  tables  have  lost  their  original  stretchers,  which  have  been 
replaced.  The  stain  and  French  polish  used  on  these  restored  stretchers  to 
give  them  a  patinated  surface  will  soon  become  marked  and  scratched  by  the 
feet.    This  would  not  occur  on  a  genuine  stretcher. 

Gate-leg  Tables. — The  oak  gate  table,  with  its  top  comprised  of  a 
centre  leaf  on  which  are  hinged  two  side  flaps  supported  by  gates  swinging 
on  pivots,  was  made  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  Cromwellian  days  up  to 
the  end  of  the  Oak  period. 

These  tables  are  similar  in  form  and  construction  throughout  this  period 
and  only  vary  in  the  turning  of  the  legs,  which  altered  in  fashion  in  a  similar 
manner  to  the  legs  of  chairs.  The  most  desirable  and  rarest  type  of  turning 
is  the  spiral  twist,  which  was  in  vogue  from  about  1655  to  1680.  In  other 
tables  the  stretchers  are  decorated  with  turning  similar  to  the  legs  ;  while  in 
ordinary  types  the  stretchers  are  four-sided  and  generally  decorated  with  a 
grooved  moulding  on  the  top  edge. 

31 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Another  rare  type  of  gate-leg  table  is  the  large  example  with  two  gates 
on  each  side  instead  of  one.  There  is  also  the  small  gate  table  measuring 
2  ft.  or  less  across  the  top.  One  variety  of  this  small  table  is  known  as 
the  "  Harlequin  Table,"  which  has  the  centre  leaf  supported  by  two  turned 
legs  mounted  on  a  base  board,  instead  of  four  connected  by  stretchers. 

These  small  tables,  owing  to  their  size  and  rarity,  are  in  comparison 
much  more  valuable  to-day  than  those  of  medium  size  ;  most  of  them  date 
from  the  Restoration  period.  They  are  also  found  made  of  elm  or  pear 
wood  ;  those  made  from  pear  wood  usually  have  a  fine  patina  of  a  reddish 
colour,  as  the  surface  of  this  wood  patinates  more  readily  than  any  other 
of  the  woods  used  for  furniture  making. 

The  tops  of  gate-leg  tables  are  generally  oval,  although  a  square  variety 
is  sometimes  found,  and  the  edges  of  the  tops  are  square  or  rounded  in 
section,  as  the  moulded  edge  did  not  come  into  fashion  during  the  Oak 
period.  The  side  flaps  have  bead  joints  (except  in  very  early  specimens) 
which,  when  the  table  is  open,  fit  into  a  groove  in  the  centre  leaf ;  the 
absence  of  this  bead  joint  generally  points  to  the  top  being  modern,  as  many 
gate-leg  tables  are  found  to-day  without  their  original  tops.  Sometimes 
the  tops  are  found  decorated  with  a  shallow  carved  design.  This  carving 
is  not  contemporary,  as  no  tables  of  the  Oak  period  ever  had  their  tops 
decorated  in  this  manner. 

Another  type  of  oak  table  which  was  made  in  large  numbers  is  an 
oblong  table  with  the  top  measuring  about  3  ft.  by  2  ft.  This,  having  one 
drawer  in  front,  was  intended  to  stand  against  the  wall.  The  examples 
now  in  existence  of  this  table  appear  to  have  been  made  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Like  the  gate-leg  tables,  these 
oblong  oak  tables  vary  only  in  the  design  of  the  legs.1 

Chests. — Of  oak  chests  the  rarest  examples  are  those  of  the  Gothic 
period.  These  are  generally  of  rough  construction  and  decorated  with 
crude,  shallow  carving.  The  finest  examples  of  the  time  of  Elizabeth  and 
James  1.  usually  have  their  fronts  decorated  with  arches  and  sometimes  with 
caryatid  or  terminal  figures.  The  panels  are  found  inlaid  with  marquetry 
in  a  floral  design  and  the  carving  is  in  high  relief  and  rich  in  appearance. 
Chests  of  the  seventeenth  century,  similar  to  the  example  illustrated  in  Fig.  3, 
show  decadence  by  the  profusion  of  carved  ornament  which  completely 
covers  the  whole  front. 

1  Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  are  also  found  made  of  walnut  and  fruit  wood. 

32 


CHESTS  AND  DRESSERS 


There  is  another  type  of  chest  dating  from  the  last  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  in  which  the  front  is  decorated  with  shaped  panels 
of  varying  design  formed  by  applied  mouldings.  Sometimes  these  chests 
have  the  panels  inlaid  with  bone  and  mother-of-pearl.  This  style  of 
decoration  is  usually  found  to-day  on  chests  with  drawers,  similar  to  the 
example  illustrated  (Fig.  7). 

In  judging  the  quality  and  value  of  a  chest,  attention  should  be  paid 
to  whether  the  carving  is  "  relief,"  "  arabesque,"  or  "  incised." 

The  plain  oak  chest  of  the  seventeenth  century,  of  which  large 
quantities  must  have  been  made,  is  often  found  to-day  with  its  stiles  and 
panels  carved  up  to  increase  its  value.  Very  often  the  plain  panels  of  these 
chests  are  inlaid  with  marquetry  of  floral  design,  in  imitation  of  Elizabethan 
examples. 

Oak  Dressers. — Judging  from  the  design  of  the  earliest  oak  dressers 
that  exist  to-day,  it  would  appear  that  they  were  not  made  in  any  great 
quantity  before  the  Restoration,  while  the  majority  hardly  come  within  the 
scope  of  this  chapter,  since  they  were  made  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  early  examples  are  found  with  legs  of  spiral  twist  or  baluster  pattern,  the 
fronts  of  the  drawers  being  decorated  with  small  shaped  panels  formed  by 
applied  mouldings,  and  the  framing  dividing  the  drawers  being  ornamented 
with  bosses  or  split  balusters,  a  method  of  decoration  much  in  vogue  at 
this  period.  In  addition  to  the  dresser  with  legs,  another  type  existed 
without  legs,  similar  to  Fig.  14. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  oak  dressers,  with  top 
parts  formed  of  open  shelves,  were  made  in  considerable  numbers.1  In  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne  the  spiral  twist  and  baluster  legs  of  the  earlier 
examples  gave  way  to  cabriole  legs,  and  these  in  turn  were  superseded,  in 
the  late  eighteenth  century,  by  straight,  square  legs.  The  dresser  without 
legs,  but  with  drawers  and  cupboards  in  the  lower  part,  was  also  made 
throughout  the  eighteenth  century.  A  good  example,  of  about  1760,  of 
this  type,  is  shown  in  Fig.  13. 

These  dressers  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  generally  of  provincial 
and  country  make,  for  the  farmhouse  and  village  inn.  They  are  therefore 
very  seldom  found  in  any  other  wood  but  oak,  elm,  apple,  and  yew,  and  are 
but  rarely  decorated  with  carving.  The  early  ones  of  the  Restoration 
period  rely  for  their  decoration  on  the  turning  of  the  legs  and  the  moulded 

1  The  seventeenth  century  dresser  with  top  part  of  shelves  is  very  seldom  met  with. 

c  33 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


panelling  on  the  drawer  fronts.  The  early  eighteenth  century  examples  are 
sometimes  found  with  the  knee  of  the  cabriole  leg  decorated  with  a  carved 
shell,  and  the  apron,  under  the  cornice  moulding  of  the  top  part,  shaped  and 
pierced.  On  some  specimens  the  corners  of  the  lower  portion  are  canted 
and  decorated  with  a  fret  in  the  Chinese  taste,  denoting  that  they  date  from 
the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  since  this  form  of  decoration  was 
not  in  vogue  before  1745.  In  an  eighteenth  century  dresser  of  good  quality 
the  drawer  fronts  and  cupboard  doors  were  usually  edged  with  a  border  of 
cross-banded  mahogany  veneer  of  about  f  in.  in  width.  For  an  example 
of  a  dresser  showing  a  pierced  and  shaped  apron  under  the  cornice,  canted 
fret  corners  decorated  with  Chinese  fret,  and  drawer  fronts  cross-banded  with 
veneer,  see  Fig.  1 3.  The  drawer  fronts  and  cupboard  doors  of  dressers  of 
about  1780  are  sometimes  found  inlaid  with  shells  or  stars  in  coloured  woods 
according  to  the  prevailing  fashion. 

The  shelves  should  always  be  carefully  examined,  as  many  dressers, 
having  lost  their  original  shelves,  have  had  them  restored.  These  dressers 
of  the  eighteenth  century  and  other  articles  of  oak  furniture  of  this  period 
are  invariably  found  to  be  of  a  much  lighter  colour  than  the  oak  pieces 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  This  difference  in  colour  is 
mainly  caused  by  the  later  oak  furniture  being  polished  or  beeswaxed  instead 
of  being  treated  with  linseed  oil,  as  was  the  case  with  the  earlier  oak. 


34 


An  oak  Dresser  ;  fronts  of  drawers  decorated  with  shaped  panels  of  various  design. 

Circa  1 690. 

Fig.  1 4.  Col.  O. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  WALNUT  PERIOD 

1660-1735 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

THE  accession  of  Charles  11.  to  the  throne  of  England  freed  the 
social  life  of  the  country  from  the  Puritanism  of  the  preceding 
years.  A  reaction  in  favour  of  what  was  artistic  and  amusing 
immediately  set  in,  and  everything  that  had  been  condemned  by  the  Puritan 
was  now  exalted  by  the  reinstated  Cavalier.  As  is  invariably  the  case 
after  Civil  War,  the  arts  and  crafts  of  the  country  had  fallen  in  abeyance 
and  reflected,  where  they  existed  at  all,  the  gloomy  outlook  of  their 
originators.  With  the  advent  of  "  The  Merry  Monarch  "  the  cropped 
hair  gave  way  to  flowing  curls,  broadcloth  to  lace  and  ruffles,  the  itinerant 
preacher  to  the  strolling  player,  and  the  spirit  of  change  laid  its  hand,  also, 
upon  furniture. 

The  new  king  and  his  courtiers  whilst  in  exile  both  in  Flanders  and 
in  France  must  have  been  influenced  by  the  arts  of  those  countries.  On  his 
arrival  at  Whitehall  it  was  not  long  before  Charles  11.  instituted  changes  in 
decoration  and  furnishing,  making  them  more  in  accord  with  that  to  which 
he  had  been  accustomed.  Finding  in  this  country  no  native  talent  for  the 
changes  he  desired,  he  brought  over  artists  and  craftsmen  from  Holland  and 
France.  Thus  it  was  that  the  beginnings  of  the  new  style  were  influenced 
by  foreign  taste  which,  radiating  from  the  king's  palaces  and  the  mansions 
of  his  courtiers,  gradually  permeated  the  whole  country  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  previous  English  types. 

Chairs,  stools,  and  dav-beds  are  the  earliest  articles  showing  the  new 
fashion  which  exist  to-day  in  any  large  numbers.  This  is  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  the  new  chairs  and  stools,  having  cane  seats  and  backs,  were 
far  more  comfortable  than  the  former  hard-seated  chairs  and  benches  of  oak, 
and  therefore  were  made  in  considerable  numbers  to  meet  the  immediate 

35 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


popular  demand;  while  tables,  cabinets,  and  chests-with-drawers  were  not 
made  under  the  influence  of  the  new  taste  and  in  the  new  fashionable 
walnut  wood  until  1675-80.  These  articles  were  veneered  with  walnut  or 
inlaid  with  marquetry  of  various  woods,  both  of  which  processes  had  no 
transitional  phase  in  England :  they  appeared  suddenly,  being  brought  bodily 
from  abroad  by  the  Dutch  craftsmen.  At  the  same  time,  the  French 
influence  was  accentuated  to  a  great  extent  by  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes  in  1685,  which  caused  the  emigration  of  Huguenot  artisans  and 
craftsmen  in  large  numbers  to  Holland  and  England. 

On  the  accession  of  William  111.  in  1689,  the  Dutch  influence  was 
increased  and  cemented,  the  growing  commerce  between  the  two  countries 
being  responsible  for  the  importation  of  large  quantities  of  Dutch  furniture. 
With  William  ill.  came  Daniel  Marot,  architect  and  designer.  Marot, 
being  a  Huguenot,  had  fled  from  France  in  1685  and  entered  the  service 
of  William  of  Orange  before  he  became  King  of  England.  During  this 
four  years'  sojourn  in  Holland  the  style  of  his  work  was  modified  by  the 
Dutch  environment,  although  it  remained  fundamentally  in  the  French 
manner  of  Louis  xiv.  On  his  arrival  in  England  he  was  appointed  Architect 
to  the  King.  In  this  capacity  he  also  designed  furniture  and  apartments. 
This  furniture  is  a  blending  of  the  Dutch  and  the  French  styles,  and  there 
exist  to-day  chairs,  stools,  mirrors,  and  beds  of  his  design.1 

By  1702,  when  Queen  Anne  came  to  the  throne,  walnut  had  become 
the  popular  wood  for  better-class  furniture,  and  oak.  furniture,  which  was 
now  gradually  adopting  the  line  and  form  of  the  walnut,  was  being  made 
only  in  the  provinces  and  for  the  cheaper  markets.  Therefore  most  of  the 
walnut  furniture  that  has  survived  dates  from  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
pieces  of  marquetry  and  walnut  of  earlier  date  than  1700  being  to-day 
distinctly  rare.  This  furniture  of  the  Queen  Anne  period  was  simple  and 
plain,  without  the  richness  of  design  which  was  characteristic  of  the  walnut 
furniture  of  the  preceding  reigns.  Marquetry  became  decadent  in  design 
and  gradually  went  out  of  fashion. 

This  decline  continued  until  about  1720,  when  furniture  again  became 
more  ornate  in  character,  owing  in  part  to  French  influences  and  in  part 
also  to  the  introduction  of  mahogany.  The  salient  feature  of  the  new  style 
was  the  decoration  of  the  legs  and  arms  of  chairs  and  settees  with  the  lion 
and  satyr  masks  and  eagle  heads.  Pieces  of  this  period,  both  of  walnut  and 
of  mahogany  furniture,  are  found  with  this  feature.    Besides  this  type  of 

1  Fine  examples  of  his  mirrors  and  beds  are  at  Hampton  Court  Palace. 

36 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  WALNUT  PERIOD 


walnut  furniture,  the  earlier  and  plainer  type  still  persisted  and  in  the 
provinces  was  made  up  to  1735  or  even  later. 


COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

The  colour  and  patina  of  walnut  furniture  in  a  great  measure  account 
for  the  esteem  in  which  furniture  made  of  this  wood  is  held  by  the  collector 
at  the  present  day.  The  colour  of  untouched  pieces  varies  over  a  wide 
range  from  very  dark  nut-brown  to  a  light  brown  of  an  almost  grey  shade, 
this  being  caused  by  the  walnut  having  faded  and  become  bleached  by  the 
sun.1  Although  preference  of  shade  is  really  a  matter  of  taste,  yet  of  all 
the  attractive  colours  in  which  walnut  furniture  is  found  to-day,  the  lighter 
hues  are  the  more  prized  in  veneered  or  marquetry  furniture.2  On  the  other 
hand,  the  most  desirable  colour  in  chairs,  stools,  and  day-beds  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  which  are  made  in  the  solid  wood  and  rely  for  their 
decoration  on  carved  ornament  rather  than  on  figure  and  grain,  is  a  dark, 
rich  brown.  Untouched  specimens  of  these  pieces  are  invariably  of  this 
colour. 

A  great  quantity  of  this  walnut  furniture  was  varnished,  the  varnish, 
which  was  transparent  and  of  a  very  fine  quality,3  being  applied  when  the 
piece  was  new.4  On  the  other  hand,  although  varnishing  seems  to  have 
been  the  usual  custom,  many  pieces  are  found  to-day  with  their  surfaces 
unvarnished,  in  which  case  they  were  most  probably  only  lightly  oiled 
and  waxed. 

The  patina  on  pieces  of  untouched  walnut  furniture,  when  found 
to-day,  varies  considerably.  On  solid  walnut,  the  patina  is  similar  to 
that  found  on  oak  (see  p.  22),  except  that  oak  is  hard  and  walnut  a  soft 
wood.  If  the  finger  nail  is  pressed  into  the  surface  of  walnut,  it  leaves  a 
slight  indentation,  whereas  if  the  same  experiment  is  made  with  oak  no 
result  is  visible. 

1  Low  pieces,  such  as  small  chests-with-drawers  and  tables,  are  often  found  with  light-toned  tops,  while 
the  front  and  sides  are  dark  in  comparison.  This  has  been  caused  by  the  piece  of  furniture  standing  in  a 
window  where  the  sun  has  bleached  the  top  without  reaching  the  front  and  sides. 

2  For  pieces  in  this  colour,  see  Figs.  31  and  47. 

3  In  fact  very  similar  to  that  used  on  violins. 

4  The  varnish,  which  has  already  been  noticed  (p.  22)  as  having  been  applied  to  oak  furniture  at  a 
date  subsequent  to  its  manufacture,  may  have  been  of  the  same  quality  as  that  found  on  walnut ;  in  which  case  it 
is  very  probable  that  it  was  added,  in  this  period,  to  oak  of  the  preceding  period. 

37 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


It  is  only  on  carved  walnut  that  the  light  and  dark  effect  caused  by  the 
accumulation  of  dust  is  observed.  No  dust  can  adhere  to  the  plain  surfaces 
of  the  veneered  pieces,  except  in  the  crevices  of  the  mouldings.  In  fact  it 
is  a  feature  of  some  of  the  light  colour  walnut  furniture  that  the  wood 
appears  almost  bare,  with  only  a  thin  coating  of  varnish  to  protect  it.1 

The  effect  of  French  polish  on  walnut  is  to  cause  the  wood  to  become 
a  yellow  colour.  The  surface  will  have  a  high  polish  and  in  some  cases 
the  grain  of  the  wood  will  be  obscured. 

DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 

As  already  stated,  the  radical  change  in  the  design  of  English  furniture 
when  it  began  to  be  made  in  walnut  was  entirely  due,  directly  and  indirectly, 
to  foreign  influences.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  furniture  of  the  Walnut 
period  is  complex  and  varied  in  its  design  and  ornamentation. 

In  the  case  of  chairs,  stools,  and  day-beds  of  the  earlier  period,  the  spiral 
twist  and  baluster  turning  were  the  chief  features  of  legs,  stretchers,  and 
uprights.  The  crestings  and  front  stretchers  of  the  chairs  and  day-beds 
were  generally  carved  in  the  design  of  amorini  supporting  a  crown,  and  the 
seats  and  backs  were  filled  with  panels  of  cane.  The  chairs  of  William  and 
Mary's  reign  had  upholstered  seats,  the  backs  either  being  decorated  with 
elaborately  carved  splats  or  caning  or  else  being  upholstered,  while  the  legs 
were  turned  and  connected  by  serpentine  stretchers  centred  by  a  finial  in  the 
middle  where  they  joined. 

The  walnut  chairs  of  the  William  and  Mary  period  had  their  crestings 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  uprights,  whilst  the  chairs  of  the  Charles  n.  and 
James  n.  periods  had  the  cresting  between  the  uprights.2 

The  design  of  some  of  these  walnut  chairs  so  closely  resembles  that  of 
the  contemporary  Dutch  that  in  some  cases  it  is  hard  to  say  to  which 
country  a  chair  belongs.  The  art  of  decorating  furniture  by  marquetry 
was  imported  about  1675  from  Holland,  where  it  was  much  in  vogue  at 
this  period.  The  earliest  designs  were  floral  in  small  panels,  as  in  the 
clock  case  (Fig.  22).  A  few  years  later  the  floral  design  was  used,  not 
in  panels,  but  completely  covering  the  top  of  a  table  or  the  door  of  a  clock 

1  As  an  example  of  this,  the  flap  of  the  bureau  W  88,  1910,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  should 
be  examined. 

*  This  16  not  invariable,  but  is  a  good  general  rule.    Cf.  the  same  distinction  in  oak  chairs,  p.  27. 

38 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  WALNUT  PERIOD 


as  in  the  clock  case  (Fig.  23).  The  next  variety  that  came  into  vogue  was 
that  known  as  "Seaweed"  marquetry,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  "Endive" 
marquetry.  Another  type  of  marquetry  design  is  the  "  Arabesque,"  which 
consists  of  a  design  similar  to  the  brass  and  tortoise-shell  designs  of  Boulle  : 
this,  however,  is  generally  found  later  than  either  of  the  floral  or  seaweed 
varieties.  The  earlier  floral  marquetry  is  most  often  found  with  the  leaves 
of  the  design  stained  green  ;  while  arabesque  marquetry  was  not  stained 
but  shaded.  This  shading  was  done  by  the  pieces  of  marquetry  being  laid 
in  hot  sand,  which  burnt  and  discoloured  the  surface  of  the  wood. 

Marquetry,  to  judge  from  examples  surviving  to-day,  was  generally  used 
for  decorating  centre  tables,  clock  cases,  chests-with-drawers,  mirror  frames, 
cabinets  on  stands,  writing-cabinets  with  "  let-down  "  fronts,  the  early  type 
of  writing  bureaux  on  legs,  and  bureaux  with  drawers.  Seaweed  marquetry 
is  also  occasionally  found  in  small  panels  decorating  the  splats  of  walnut 
chairs  of  the  time  of  Queen  Anne.  The  articles  in  marquetry  most 
frequently  found  to-day  are  the  long  case  clocks  and  chests-with-drawers  ; 
the  centre  table  on  twisted  or  baluster  walnut  legs,  the  mirror  frame,  and 
the  writing  cabinet  or  bureau  are  not  so  common.  Another  article  of 
which  great  numbers  must  have  been  made  and  decorated  with  marquetry 
at  this  period  is  a  flat  box  with  a  lid,  sometimes  called  a  lace  box,  generally 
measuring  about  2  ft.  by  1 8  in. 

All  these  articles  of  furniture  decorated  with  marquetry  were  much 
more  extensively  made  in  plain  veneered  walnut,  and  the  article  which 
is  most  abundant  to-day  is  the  bureau,  sometimes  with  the  top  part  (as  in 
Fig.  31),  but  more  often  without.  Bureaux  on  baluster  legs  (Fig.  44) 
and  writing  cabinets  with  let-down  front  (Fig.  50)  were  the  first  pieces 
of  furniture  in  England  that  were  specially  designed  for  the  purposes  of 
writing.  The  bureau  with  the  sloping  front  and  drawers  must  have  been 
made  in  considerable  numbers  from  the  time  of  William  and  Mary,  and 
continued  to  be  made  throughout  the  eighteenth  century  in  more  or  less 
the  same  form,  altering  only  in  its  wood  and  decoration  according  to  the 
prevailing  fashion  of  each  period. 

This  veneered  walnut  furniture  relied  for  its  decoration  on  the  fine 
figure  and  grain  of  the  wood.  The  veneer  was  applied  in  the  form  of 
panels  surrounded  by  narrow  bands  of  herring-bone  or  feather  inlay  and 
cross-banded  edges.  The  decorative  effect  was  also  increased  by  well- 
defined  mouldings,  all  of  which  were  cross-banded.1 

1  Cross-banded  :  i.e.  with  the  grain  of  the  wood  running  across  the  length  of  the  moulding. 

39 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


One  of  the  distinctive  features  of  this  period  was  the  introduction  of 
the  cabriole  leg  for  chairs,  tables,  and  stands.  It  first  appears  in  William 
and  Mary's  reign,  in  chairs  showing  French  influence  in  their  design,  and 
generally  terminated  in  a  hoof  or  scroll  foot  (Fig.  21).  But  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Anne  it  became  bolder  and  ended  in  a  club  foot,1  the  knee  often 
being  carved  with  an  escallop  shell  ornament,  a  favourite  motif  of  this 
period.    The  club  foot  in  its  turn  was  succeeded  by  the  claw  and  ball  foot 

(Fig-  37)- 

With  the  advent  of  the  cabriole  leg  and  the  club  foot,  the  backs 
of  chairs  altered  from  the  elaborately  carved  solid  walnut  of  the  pre- 
ceding reign  to  the  veneered  hoop  back  with  splat.  This  type  of  chair, 
sometimes  known  as  the  Hogarth  chair,  persisted  in  walnut  until  the 
introduction  of  mahogany  about  1720,  and  after  that  date  it  was  still  made 
in  both  woods.  It  was  the  custom  to  make  en  suite  with  these  chairs  two- 
chair-back  settees  and  stools,  while  occasionally  three-chair-back  settees 
were  made.  Other  innovations  in  design  which  came  into  fashion  about 
1720  were  the  eagle  and  lion  heads  and  the  lion  and  satyr  masks.  Eagle 
and  lion  heads  were  often  used  as  a  form  of  decoration  for  terminating  the 
ends  of  the  arms  of  chairs  and  settees,  and  the  lion  and  satyr  mask  was 
utilised  for  the  decoration  of  the  knee  of  the  cabriole  leg  in  place  of  the 
former  shell.2 

Pieces  of  walnut  furniture  with  these  carved  motifs  of  decoration  are 
of  great  rarity  to-day,  and  when  found  are  highly  prized  by  the  collector. 

Pieces  of  furniture  can  be  dated  approximately  by  the  beads  and 
mouldings  around  or  on  the  drawer  fronts.  The  earliest  type  of  drawer 
found  in  walnut  furniture  has  a  half-rounded,  cross-banded  beading  applied  on 
the  carcase  round  the  drawers  (Fig.  50).  This  moulding  dates  from  1690 
to  1 705. 3  The  next  type  is  the  double  half-round  beading  on  the  carcase 
(Fig.  31).  This  dated  from  1700  to  171 5.  In  the  third  example  the 
drawer  front  overlaps  the  carcase,  concealing  the  crack  between  them  (Fig.  38). 
This  dates  from  171 5  to  1735.  The  last  type  is  the  cock  bead  surrounding 
the  edge  of  the  drawer  front,  which  is  generally  found  on  mahogany  and 
was  used  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  therefore 
dates  from  1735  to  1800  (Fig.  34). 

1  See  Fig.  I. 

s  With  the  lion  mask  the  lion  paw  foot  is  generally  found  instead  of  the  claw  and  ball  foot.    See  Fig.  46. 

3  These  dates  are  of  course  only  very  approximate,  for  pieces  were  undoubtedly  made,  especially  in  the 
country,  which  considerably  overlap  the  periods  given.  Country  cabinetmakers  were  often  working  in  styles 
that  had  long  been  discarded  by  their  confreres  in  London  and  in  the  big  towns. 

40 


WORKMANSHIP 


WORKMANSHIP 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  furniture  of  the  Walnut  period  was 
veneered — that  is  to  say,  the  walnut  wood  was  cut  into  veneers  and  glued 
on  to  the  surface  of  the  carcase  of  a  piece  generally  made  in  deal  and 
oak.1  This  veneering  was  done  on  the  flat  surfaces  and  large  shaped  mould- 
ings of  the  furniture.  But  in  the  Queen  Anne  period2  chairs,  stools,  and 
settees  would  have  their  legs  and  arms  made  in  the  solid  wood  with  the 
backs  and  seat  rails  veneered. 

The  bottoms  of  the  drawers  of  pieces  of  walnut  furniture  are  generally 
found  with  the  grain  of  the  wood  running  from  back  to  front.  It  was  not 
until  later  in  the  eighteenth  century  (about  1740)  that  the  drawers  were 
made  with  the  grain  running  from  side  to  side. 

When  applying  the  veneer  to  a  piece  of  furniture  the  cabinetmaker 
would  take  speeial  pains  to  adjust  the  figure  of  the  veneer,  so  that  it 
would  be  symmetrical.  For  instance,  on  the  drawers  of  the  bureau,  Fig.  31, 
it  will  be  seen  that  each  long  drawer  is  divided  into  two  panels,  the  figure  of 
the  wood  being  identical  in  each.  A  careful  matching  of  these  veneers 
denotes  a  piece  of  high  quality.  The  chest  on  stand  (Fig.  38)  also  very 
clearly  shows  this  feature.  In  pieces  of  inferior  quality,  the  matching  of  the 
veneer  was  not  taken  so  much  into  consideration. 

Another  feature  of  a  piece  of  good  quality  is  that  the  front  and  most 
prominent  parts  would  be  veneered  with  burr  walnut,  which  is  the  veneer 
cut  from  the  root  of  the  tree.  The  sides  of  the  piece,  which  are  less 
important,  would  be  veneered  with  walnut  cut  from  the  trunk.  This,  being 
cut  with  the  grain  and  not  across  it,  will  show  the  grain  in  streaks  on  the 
surface  of  the  veneer,  as  in  Fig.  33,  whereas  burr  walnut  is  cut  across  the 
grain,  and,  being  from  the  root,  will  show  a  finely  marked  figure,  as  in 

Fig-  47- 

Another  favourite  method  of  utilising  the  variation  in  the  grain  of 
walnut  wood  was  by  cutting  the  smaller  branches  of  the  tree  transversely. 
The  figure  of  the  grain  thus  obtained  was  circular  in  form,  and  veneer  cut  in 

1  A  bureau  bookcase,  for  example,  would  have  the  top  carcase  made  of  oak,  as  the  interior  of  this  part 
would  be  exposed  to  view,  while  the  carcase  of  the  bottom  portion  would  be  made  of  deal,  as  this  would  be 
hidden  by  the  drawers.  The  sides,  backs,  and  bottoms  of  the  drawers  in  a  good  quality  piece  would  be  made 
of  oak,  in  a  piece  of  inferior  quality  they  would  be  of  deal.  This  employment  of  two  different  woods  for  the 
making  of  the  carcase  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  question  of  cost,  oak  being  more  expensive  than  deal. 

2  Before  this  these  articles,  being  decorated  with  carving,  were  made  entirely  in  the  solid  walnut. 

41 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


this  manner  was  called  "  oyster-shell."  This  type  of  veneer  was  often  made 
of  laburnum  wood  for  use  in  conjunction  with  marquetry,  generally  for  the 
decoration  of  spaces  between  the  inlaid  panels  (Fig.  22).  This  oyster-shell 
veneer  was  also  very  often  used  for  decorating  tables,  cabinets,  and  chests  with 
drawers  during  the  late  seventeenth  century. 

The  mouldings  were  formed  by  applying  a  strip  of  walnut  to  a  deal 
foundation,  so  that  the  grain  was  across  the  length,  and  then  planing  it  to 
the  required  section. 

The  herring-bone  or  feather  banding,  which  was  extensively  used  as  an 
edging  to  the  panels  of  drawer  fronts,  table  tops,  etc.,  consisted  of  narrow 
bands  of  veneer  cut  on  the  slant  ;  these  were  set  side  by  side,  so  that  the  grain 
met  in  the  middle  at  an  acute  angle.  Poor  quality  pieces  of  walnut  furniture 
are  not  as  a  rule  found  decorated  with  this  feather  banding,  but  inlaid  with 
a  line  of  boxwood,  a  much  cheaper  method.  The  walnut  veneer  was  gener- 
ally about  ^  in.  in  thickness  ;  the  burr  walnut  was,  however,  thicker,  being 
sometimes  as  thick  as  £  in.    These  veneers  were  all  saw-cut. 

The  woods  used  in  marquetry  were  generally  boxwood,  holly,  or  syca- 
more. In  the  design  of  marquetry  the  inlay  was  either  of  light-coloured 
woods  upon  a  dark  background,  or  vice  versa.  Inlay  of  light  woods  upon 
a  light  background  was  seldom  employed. 

The  collector  will  realise,  even  from  the  very  brief  description  given 
above,  the  amount  of  care  and  labour  that  was  devoted  to  the  making  and 
adornment  of  pieces  of  furniture  of  the  Walnut  period.  He  will  also  realise 
how  examples  of  this  furniture  vary  in  quality,  a  knowledge  essential  for  the 
proper  understanding  of  those  old  pieces  that  exist  to-day. 

SPURIOUS  WALNUT  FURNITURE 

Walnut  furniture  to-day  is  imitated,  "  improved,"  or  adapted  by  the 
faker  in  all  the  four  categories  detailed  in  Chapter  II,  with  the  exception 
perhaps  of  category  C.  Most  of  the  spurious  pieces  are  those  in  category  A 
— i.e.  imitations  of  entirely  new  construction. 

These  pieces  are  made  in  the  manner  briefly  described  in  Chapter  II. 
They  generally  take  the  form  of  articles  of  a  kind  which  are  extremely  rare 
in  walnut  furniture,  such  as  the  bureau  on  turned  or  twisted  legs,  the  small 
2  ft.  bureau  on  stand,  the  walnut  china  cabinet,  rare  early  card  tables  inlaid 
with  panels  of  seaweed  marquetry,  marquetry  centre  tables  on  turned  legs 

42 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 


with  stretchers,  and  all  articles  which,  if  genuine,  would  to-day  be  worth 
considerable  sums  of  money,  as  competition  amongst  collectors  would  be 
keen  and  prices  would  soar  accordingly. 

These  imitations  are  made  to  supply  a  demand,  as  many  people  to-day 
who  are  desirous  of  furnishing  a  room  entirely  in  walnut  go  in  search  of  a 
walnut  china  cabinet,  which  is  one  of  the  rarest  pieces  of  furniture  of  this 
period  ;  in  fact,  there  are  only  a  few  genuine  examples  extant. 

The  explanation  of  the  scarcity  of  these  walnut  cabinets  with  glazed 
doors  is  that,  in  the  days  of  William  and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne,  it  was  not 
the  fashion  to  display  china  in  cabinets,  but  to  place  it  on  tables  and  over  the 
chimney  pieces,  which  were  sometimes  built  up  in  tiers  of  varying  heights, 
for  the  better  display  of  the  Oriental  and  Delft  china  so  fashionable  at  this 
period.  In  the  time  of  Queen  Anne  and  later,  niches  with  shelves  were 
let  into  the  walls  of  rooms  specially  for  china  ;  so  that,  generally  speaking, 
cabinets  for  china  were  not  used.  Hence  the  few  genuine  examples  that 
survive  to-day  are  of  high  value. 

Bookcases  also  exist  of  this  period,  but  are  exceptionally  rare,  and  the 
two  or  three  earliest  known  specimens,  which  are  of  oak,  are  similar  to  the 
bookcases  once  belonging  to  Samuel  Pepys,  and  now  in  the  Pepys  Library  at 
Cambridge.  Therefore,  owing  to  the  very  small  quantity  of  china  cabinets 
and  bookcases  in  walnut,  the  imitator  has  supplied  the  demand  by  spurious 
cabinets,  the  design,  proportion,  and  ornamentation  being  entirely  of  his  own 
conception.  They  generally  have  all  the  desirable  and  unusual  features 
only  found  on  rare  specimens  of  walnut  furniture,  such  as  the  double- 
domed  top  and  the  stand  with  turned  cupped  legs,  connected  by  serpentine 
stretchers,  and  carved  mouldings  which  he  will  invariably  gild,  as  it  is  easier 
for  him  to  obtain  an  appearance  of  age  on  a  gilt  surface  than  on  that  of 
wood. 

Another  article  in  constant  demand,  which  the  imitator  readily  supplies, 
is  the  walnut  cheval  glass  to  match  the  walnut  furniture  in  a  Queen  Anne 
bedroom.  The  earliest  known  genuine  example  of  a  cheval  glass  dates  from 
about  1785,  and  was  invented  by  a  designer  of  that  period  ;  it  is  therefore 
impossible  to  obtain  a  genuine  cheval  glass  of  walnut  wood  of  the  time  of 
Queen  Anne. 

Among  other  imitations  in  walnut  are  those  of  the  rare  examples  with 
the  lion  masks  carved  on  the  knees  of  the  legs  and  the  paw  feet,  similar  to 
the  card  table  and  settee  shown  in  Figs.  45  and  46.  These  imitations  take 
the  form  of  settees,  armchairs,  and  especially  stools.    In  comparison  with 

43 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


genuine  specimens  they  are  over-ornamented  with  carving  and  are  ponderous 
and  vulgar  in  appearance.  In  this  type  of  imitation  the  chairs  and  settees 
are  often  made  with  upholstered  backs,  with  the  legs  and  arms  only  of  walnut. 
By  carrying  out  the  design  in  this  manner,  the  imitator  has  less  surface  to 
patinate,  whereas,  if  the  back  was  also  in  wood,  it  would  increase  the  cost 
and  add  considerably  to  his  labour.  He  obtains  the  appearance  of  age 
on  these  pieces  with  French  polish,  stain,  and  wax,  in  the  manner  already 
mentioned. 

In  these  imitations  of  new  construction,  the  underframing  of  the  seat 
should  be  carefully  examined.  A  genuine  chair  or  stool  will  have  this 
underframing  made  of  beech,  from  about  an  inch  up  to  two  inches  in 
thickness  ;  the  beech  will  be  unpolished  and  only  darkened  in  colour  by  age, 
the  rails  will  be  nicely  finished  and  not  rough  in  appearance  ;  in  some  cases, 
however,  the  imitations  will  have  the  seat  rails  much  thicker  and  roughly 
hewn  as  a  supposed  sign  of  age.  Any  indication  of  a  white  mould  or  bloom 
on  this  underframing  is  due  to  the  working  out  of  the  soda  with  which 
the  wood  has  been  treated  to  acquire  the  right  colour  of  age.  In  these 
imitations  the  figure  of  the  walnut  wood — which  is  so  important  a  feature  in 
the  genuine  piece — will  be  obscured  and  hidden  by  the  stain  and  polish 
applied  to  it.  This  is  very  noticeable  in  pieces  with  veneered  surfaces.  As 
already  mentioned  in  Chapter  III  on  oak,  these  spurious  pieces  in  many 
cases  lose  their  appearance  of  age  in  the  course  of  seven  or  eight  years. 
This  applies  also  to  spurious  walnut  furniture,  and  what  is  then  specially 
noticeable  is  that  the  wood  has  a  tendency  to  change  its  colour  after  a  time 
and  become  a  light  yellow. 

A  very  useful  test  can  be  applied  to  chairs  and  settees  with  splat  backs. 
In  the  genuine  old  piece,  the  splat  where  it  joins  the  back  seat  rail  is  kept 
in  position  by  a  shoe  piece,  which  is  glued  on  to  the  top  of  the  rail.  On 
examining  the  chair  from  behind,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  seat  rail  and  the 
shoe  are  two  different  pieces  of  wood,  and  the  line  where  they  join  can  be 
distinctly  seen.  The  imitator  does  not  go  to  this  trouble,  but  makes  his  shoe 
and  seat  rail  all  in  one  piece,  thus  saving  cost  and  labour.  Sometimes  he  will 
gouge  a  line  across  the  seat  rail  at  the  back  so  as  to  imitate  the  joint,  but 
generally  he  does  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  do  this.  Chairs  and  settees, 
therefore,  with  the  seat  rail  and  shoe  in  one  should  be  viewed  with  strong  suspicion. 
This  test  refers  not  only  to  walnut  furniture,  but  to  mahogany  furniture  and 
all  chairs  made  in  the  eighteenth  century  with  the  splat  joining  the  seat  rail. 

Sometimes  the  imitator,  in  making  spurious  pieces  with  drawers,  will 

44 


CHAIRS,  STOOLS,  AND  DAY-BEDS.     1 660-1 700 


copy  the  drawer  of  the  early  seventeenth  century,  with  the  runner  grooved 
in  the  drawer  side,  but  genuine  pieces  of  walnut  furniture  will  hardly  ever 
be  found  with  the  runners  of  the  drawers  made  in  this  manner.  It  was  a 
method  that  had  gone  out  of  fashion  before  walnut  furniture  started  to  be 
made. 

Several  examples  of  imitations  according  to  categories  B  and  D  will  be 
shown  in  the  following  notes  on  the  various  articles  of  walnut  furniture. 

Chairs,  Stools,  and  Day-beds.     1 660-1700. — A  very  large  quantity  of 
these  must  originally  have  been  made,  as  owing  to  their  fragile  construction 
and  the  fact  that  they  are  made  in  walnut  wood,  so  liable  to  the  ravages  of 
the  worm,  very  many  must  have  perished  in  the  course  of  time  ;  yet  a  large 
number  are  still  in  existence. 

Of  the  chairs  a  large  number  of  single  ones  exist  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  armchairs.  Originally  they  were  undoubtedly  made  in 
sets,  but  to-day  anything  like  a  complete  set  of  chairs  is  very  seldom  met 
with.  The  armchair  is  naturally  of  considerably  more  value  than  the  single, 
and  the  day-bed,  which  is  rarer  than  either,  is  still  more  highly  prized. 
Examples  with  spiral  twist  stretchers,  legs,  and  uprights  are  more  desirable 
to-day  than  the  later  ones  in  which  the  baluster  turning  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  spiral  twist. 

The  degrees  of  quality  in  the  carving  of  the  cresting  and  the  front 
stretchers  and  the  turning  of  the  spiral  twists  are  considerable.  For  an 
example  of  a  chair  of  good  quality,  the  one  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum,  which  is  illustrated  (Fig.  18),  should  be  examined.  In  the  inferior 
specimens  the  cresting  and  front  stretcher  are  not  pierced  through  but  are 
decorated  with  shallow  carving.  In  addition  to  examples  found  in  walnut, 
a  quantity  of  furniture,  mostly  single  chairs  and  stools,  has  survived,  made 
in  beech.  The  reason  for  the  manufacture  of  these  was  undoubtedly  because 
they  could  be  made  more  cheaply,  beech  being  a  less  expensive  wood  than 
walnut.  Unlike  the  walnut  furniture  it  was  painted  black,  instead  of  being 
left  in  the  natural  wood.  For  examples  of  this  type  see  the  chair  and  stool 
illustrated  (Figs.  42  and  25).  Naturally  pieces  of  beech  furniture  are  of 
considerably  less  value  to-day  than  those  made  in  walnut. 

Chairs  of  the  William  and  Mary  period  with  elaborately  carved 
backs  are  very  scarce,  and  are  generally  of  greater  value  than  those  of  the 
Charles  11.  period.    This  especially  refers  to  the  chairs  showing  the  influence 

45 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


of  Daniel  Marot  in  their  design  (Figs.  19  and  21).  These  are  sometimes 
met  with  in  pairs  or  small  sets  of  four  or  six.  The  armchair  of  this  type  is 
especially  prized  ;  indeed,  judging  from  its  scarcity  to-day,  only  a  very  few  can 
have  been  made.    Stools 1  similar  to  these  chairs  are  also  extremely  scarce. 

The  chair  with  the  upholstered  back  and  seat  dating  from  the  William 
and  Mary  period  is  also  met  with  to-day,  but  generally  the  legs  and  stretchers 
are  of  painted  beech  and  not  of  walnut.  The  same  refers  to  the  early  wing 
armchair,  as  an  early  specimen  in  walnut  of  the  William  and  Mary  period  is 
a  rarity.  Couches  with  upholstered  backs  of  this  period  are  by  far  the  most 
uncommon  articles  of  upholstered  furniture  ;  few  specimens  exist,  and  these 
in  most  cases  belong  to  the  descendants  of  those  for  whom  they  were  origin- 
ally made.  They  have  elaborately  carved  walnut  stretchers  and  legs,  and  the 
seat  and  backs  are  sometimes  covered  in  Genoese  velvet. 

The  majority  of  these  chairs,  stools,  and  day-beds  are  to-day  in  a  more 
or  less  restored  state.  The  part  most  usually  found  restored  in  the  chairs 
is  the  front  carved  stretcher,  which,  owing  to  its  position,  has  been  broken 
and  lost.  Many  armchairs,  too,  have  a  new  arm.  Special  care,  therefore, 
should  be  taken  in  examining  these  parts.  The  seat  rails  and  subsidiary 
turned  stretchers  are  also  often  found  to  have  been  restored  ;  but  these  natur- 
ally do  not  affect  the  value  of  a  chair  so  much  as  a  new  arm  or  new  front 
stretcher.  This  also  applies  to  the  caning,  which  is  very  seldom  found  in  its 
original  state.2 

These  chairs,  stools,  and  day-beds  are  not  extensively  reproduced  to-day 
by  the  imitator,  with  the  exception  of  some  examples  in  beech.  This  furniture 
being  painted,  its  surface  can  be  copied  and  made  to  look  old  much  more 
easily  than  the  patinated  surface  of  the  walnut  wood.  The  imitator  generally 
confines  his  copies  to  the  wing  armchair  with  turned  legs  and  elaborately 
carved  front  stretcher  or  serpentine  stretcher  and  the  couch  with  high 
upholstered  back.  To  add  to  their  semblance  of  age,  these  pieces  are  often 
upholstered  in  old  damask  or  such-like  material.  The  single  chair  and 
stool,  being  less  saleable  articles,  are  not  so  frequently  imitated.  A  number 
of  stools  with  twisted  legs  and  two  carved  stretchers  have  been  made  up 
from  the  front  legs  and  stretchers  of  two  single  Charles  11.  chairs,  the  backs 
of  which  have  been  broken  beyond  repair.  The  type  of  stool  with  cane 
seat  of  the  Charles  11.  period,  when  original,  is  rarer  to-day  than  most  other 

1  See  Fig.  27. 

2  Old  caning  will  be  brittle,  whilst  the  modern  caning  is  soft  and  pliable,  with  its  newness  toned  down  by 
staining. 

46 


A  walnut  Chair. 
Circa  1675. 


Fig.  15. 


Col.  M. 


A   walnut  Chair,  with  twisted  spiral 
legs,  stretchers,  and  uprights. 
Circa  1658. 
Fig.  if).  Col.  M. 


A  walnut  Day  Bed  with  two  backs. 
Circa  1675. 


Col.  Q. 


A  very  fine  walnut  Armchair  of  the  Restoration  period.  The  crouching  lions  on 
the  arms  are  very  unusual.  This  chair  is  said  to  have  been  made  originally  for 
Nell  Gwyn,  and  until  recent  years  was  in  the  possession  or  her  descendants. 

Circa  1670. 

Fig.  18.  Col.  R. 


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CHAIRS,  STOOLS,  AND  SETTEES.    1700-173 5 


types  of  seventeenth  century  stools,  which  are  found,  generally,  in  painted 
beech  and  not  in  walnut. 

Sometimes  these  chairs  with  spiral  twist  legs  and  carved  crestings 
will  be  found  in  oak  ;  these  are  either  modern  imitations  or  made  about 
i860,  when  a  considerable  amount  of  oak  furniture  stained  black  was  made, 
based  on  the  design  of  the  chairs  of  the  Restoration  period.  They  were  not 
imitations  meant  to  deceive,  but  the  revival  of  an  old  design.  The  resemblance 
is  only  slight,  as  they  are  by  no  means  faithful  copies  like  the  imitations  made 
at  the  present  day  ;  but  some  of  these  i860  chairs,  during  the  last  fifty  or  sixty 
years,  have  obtained  a  certain  appearance  of  age,  and  therefore  it  is  quite 
possible  for  the  uninitiated  to  mistake  them  for  those  of  the  Stuart  period. 

Chairs,  Stools,  and  Settees.  1700- 173 5. — Most  of  these  extant 
to-day  are  of  the  plain  type  with  the  cabriole  leg  ending  in  a  club  foot. 
Examples  with  the  carved  cabriole  leg  and  the  claw  and  ball  foot  have 
survived  in  fewer  numbers,  and  these,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  collector, 
are  naturally  the  most  desirable,  especially  the  armchair  and  two-chair-back 
settee.  The  chairs  were  undoubtedly  made  originally  in  sets  consisting  of 
six,  eight,  or  ten  single  chairs  with  two  or  four  armchairs,  but  to-day  it  is 
seldom  that  a  set  of  more  than  six  single  chairs  is  found  intact.  Unfortu- 
nately a  great  number  of  these  chairs  and  settees  with  the  hoop  back  are  found 
with  their  surfaces  French  polished. 

The  quality  of  the  carving  and  the  figure  of  the  grain  of  walnut  veneer 
varies  considerably.  In  fine  examples,  the  backs  in  many  cases  will  be  found 
veneered  with  burr  walnut,  although,  more  often,  plain  walnut  veneer  would 
be  used  for  this  purpose.  Majiy  examples  will  also  be  found  with  their 
backs  in  the  solid  wood  ;  these  generally  are  not  of  such  good  quality.  The 
quality  of  the  carving  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  execution  of  the  claw 
and  ball  foot.  In  a  fine  example  similar  to  that  shown  on  the  front  legs  of 
the  chair,  Fig.  63,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  claw  has  a  firm  grip  of  the  ball 
and  the  curve  of  the  leg  is  graceful  and  definite.  In  a  poor  specimen  the 
cabriole  leg  will  be  clumsy  and  ill-defined,  and  when  it  terminates  in  a  claw 
and  ball  foot  the  latter  will  have  a  pinched  and  mean  appearance  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  leg.  The  claws  are  sometimes  found  webbed,  this  un- 
desirable feature,  however,  being  in  the  main  peculiar  to  Irish  mahogany 
furniture. 

As  already  mentioned,  walnut  chairs,  stools,  and  settees  with  the  knees 
of  the  legs  decorated  with  lion  masks  are  of  very  great  rarity,  although 

47 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


within  recent  years  the  number  of  existing  examples  has  been  consider- 
ably augmented  by  the  imitator.  The  plainer  type  of  walnut  chair  and 
settee  has  also  been  extensively  copied,  especially  the  latter,  which,  as 
previously  pointed  out,  is  a  piece  of  furniture  much  in  demand  to-day. 
The  arms  of  these  spurious  settees  are  often  decorated  with  an  eagle's  head, 
as  this  is  a  salient  feature  of  the  genuine  piece.  In  order  to  enhance  the 
value  of  plain  walnut  armchairs,  also,  the  imitator  carves  the  ends  of  the 
arms  with  eagle's  heads  ;  as,  however,  the  supply  of  these  armchairs  is 
to-day  by  no  means  plentiful,  it  is  the  corner  armchair,  which  exists  in  far 
greater  numbers,  that  is  generally  chosen  for  this  treatment.  It  is  generally 
possible  to  detect  when  this  feature  has  been  added  to  the  chair,  because 
the  imitator  has  been  unable  to  reproduce  the  worn  appearance  of  the 
original  eagle  head,  which,  owing  to  its  position  on  the  arm,  will  have  been 
subjected  to  constant  handling  which  will  have  worn  away  the  sharp  edges. 

The  corner  or  writing  armchair  was  a  very  favourite  one  in  the 
eighteenth  century  and  exists  in  large  numbers  to-day.  Sometimes  it  was 
made  with  another  splat  fitted  on  to  the  back,  as  in  Fig.  40.  This  type  is 
called  a  barber's  chair,  as  the  high  back  formed  a  rest  for  the  head  during 
shaving.  Walnut  barber's  chairs  are  rare  to-day,  those  extant  being 
generally  of  country  make,  in  either  elm,  oak,  or  cherry  wood. 

The  favourite  covering  for  the  upholstered  seats  and  backs  of  the  chairs 
and  settees  of  this  period  was  needlework.  Owing,  however,  to  its  delicate 
nature  few  examples  are  found  to-day  with  their  original  coverings.  Many 
old  chairs  and  settees  have  had  their  seats  and  backs  upholstered  in  modern 
needlework,  the  difference  between  the  old  and  new  being  very  apparent, 
as  the  original  is  thin  in  texture  with  a  smooth  and  even  surface,  whilst  the 
reproduction  is  thick,  and  in  places  lumpy.  This  modern  needlework  is  also 
anaemic  in  colour,  whereas  the  old  is  often  bright  and  fresh-looking. 

Writing  Tables  and  Writing  Cabinets. — The  earliest  form  of 
bureau  was  on  legs  similar  to  those  shown  in  Fig.  44,  and  is  a  particularly 
rare  piece  of  furniture. 

The  later  type  with  drawers  underneath  has  survived  in  considerable 
numbers  in  walnut,  both  with  and  without  the  top  part.  The  latter  is 
known  as  the  bureau  bookcase.  These  bureaux  and  bureau  bookcases  were 
made  in  varying  widths,  the  usual  type  measuring  3  ft.  6  in.,  whilst  the 
narrowest  and  rarest  type  measures  2  ft.  or  under  (Fig.  36).  In  the  bureau 
bookcase  the  cupboard  doors  of  the  top  part  have  their  panels  generally 

48 


A  long  case  Night  Clock, 
inlaid  with  floral  mar- 
quetry in  panels.  Very 
rare  movement  by  Fid  ward 
East,  London. 

Circa  1685. 
Fig.  22.  Col.  T. 


A  very  rare  Grandmother 
Clock ;  case  inlaid  with 
floral  marquetry.  Flight- 
day  movement  by  Chris- 
topher Gould,  London. 

Circa  1 700. 
Fig.  23.  Col.  N. 


A  long  case  Clock,  decorated  in 
black  and  gold  English  lacquer. 
Circa  174O. 


Fig.  24.  Col.  M. 


V 


WRITING  TABLES  AND  WRITING  CABINETS 


fitted  with  old  Vauxhall  mirror  plates  with  bevelled  edges,  which  add  greatly 
to  the  decorative  effect  of  this  piece  of  furniture.  Many  bureau  bookcases, 
however,  were  made  with  veneered  walnut  panels  to  the  doors  instead  of  the 
mirrors,  in  order,  no  doubt,  to  lessen  the  cost,  as  glass  at  this  period  was  very 
expensive.  Needless  to  say,  the  presence  of  these  mirrors  adds  considerably 
to  the  value  of  a  bureau  bookcase  ;  therefore  many  examples  originally  made 
with  the  wooden  panels  have  had  them  replaced  by  mirrors.  These  new 
mirrors  are  generally  plain  without  bevelled  edges,  but  if  their  edges  are 
bevelled  the  new  bevelling  will  be  entirely  different  from  the  old.  This  subject 
of  old  and  new  bevelling  on  mirrors  is  more  fully  described  in  Chapter  VI. 

The  most  valuable  type  of  these  bureau  bookcases  is  the  very  narrow 
one,  especially  if  the  top  part  has  two  doors  instead  of  one,  which  is  the 
more  usual.  The  value  of  these  pieces  to-day  depends  on  the  importance  of 
the  design  ;  those  with  a  straight  top  and  mirror  panels  with  square  instead  of 
shaped  tops  are  much  more  plentiful  and  less  valuable  than  the  examples 
with  the  broken  arch  or  double  dome  (Fig.  31). 

The  interest  and  value  of  these  bureau  bookcases  is  increased  by  a 
cross-banded  ogee  moulding  around  the  bottom  part  just  above  the  drawers, 
as  this  is  only  found  in  the  early  examples,  or  by  the  bottom  part  having 
cupboards  with  doors  instead  of  the  more  usual  drawers,  or  if  the  top  part 
is  fitted  with  small  drawers,  pigeon-holes,  and  compartments,  as  shown  in 
the  mahogany  example,  Fig.  83. 

In  most  walnut  bureaux  there  is  a  well  in  the  centre  of  the  writing 
space,  which  is  closed  by  a  sliding  top.  This  is  a  feature  which  is  peculiar  to 
the  walnut  bureau,  as  in  the  later  mahogany  examples  the  space  of  this  well 
is  taken  up  by  drawers.  Both  the  bureau  and  the  bureau  bookcase  are  some- 
times found  with  a  knee-hole.  This  peculiarity  is  more  often  met  with  in 
the  bureau,  but  is  extremely  rare.  Another  kind  of  bureau  is  the  small  one 
on  a  stand  with  legs,  about  2  ft.  in  width,  similar  to  the  three  examples 
illustrated  (Figs.  32,  33,  and  34).  The  stands  of  these  small  bureaux  vary  in 
design  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  period  in  which  they  were  made. 

All  the  walnut  bureaux  of  this  type  that  have  survived  to-day  are  of 
very  good  workmanship,  showing  that  they  were  expensive  pieces  originally 
and  only  made  for  the  well-to-do.  Hence  to-day  they  are  very  scarce  and 
valuable. 

As  already  stated,  this  small  bureau  is  a  piece  of  furniture  which  the 
faker  delights  to  imitate,  usually  in  the  early  form  with  the  turned  cupped 
legs  and  flat  stretchers. 

d  49 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Another  type  of  writing  cabinet  is  one  with  a  let-down  front,  similar  to 
the  example  illustrated  in  lacquer  (Fig.  50).  In  plain  veneered  walnut 
these  cabinets  are  not  to-day  valued  so  highly,  most  probably  because  they 
are  ill  adapted  for  practical  use,  but  being  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  bureau 
bookcase,  the  early  examples  are  sometimes  found  decorated  with  floral  or 
seaweed  marquetry.  From  the  design  of  examples  extant  to-day,  they  would 
appear  to  have  been  made  not  later  than  1720. 

The  flat-top  walnut  pedestal  writing  table,  with  a  knee-hole  and  drawers, 
was  an  article  of  furniture  made  in  very  small  numbers  in  the  Walnut  period, 
and  most  of  the  examples  extant  date  towards  the  end  of  the  first  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  are  generally  of  large  dimensions  with 
drawers  on  two  sides  ;  the  tops  were  not  veneered,  but  covered  with  leather  or 
sometimes  velvet.  Another  type  of  writing  table  with  a  flat  top  was  one  on 
legs,  a  very  fine  example  of  which  is  in  Kensington  Palace.  This  table  has 
double  scroll  legs  connected  by  flat  stretchers,  and  dates  from  the  period  of 
William  and  Mary.    The  top  is  covered  with  green  silk  velvet. 

Another  pedestal  knee-hole  table  with  drawers,  found  in  walnut,  is  the 
small  table  with  a  top  generally  measuring  about  3  ft.  by  2  ft.  As  these 
tables  have  veneered  walnut  tops,  they  were  probably  originally  intended  for 
dressing  tables  and  not  for  writing  tables.  Considerable  numbers  of  them 
must  have  been  made  in  the  early  eighteenth  century,  as  many  examples  have 
survived.  Besides  this  table  there  is  another  small  type,  on  cabriole  legs 
generally  with  three  drawers,  which  also  exists  to-day  in  large  numbers.  This 
is  generally  found  with  plain  cabriole  legs  ending  in  club  feet,  but  sometimes 
examples  are  found  with  carved  cabriole  legs  and  claw  and  ball  feet,  which 
naturally  are  of  much  greater  interest  and  value. 

Bookcases  and  China  Cabinets. — Attention  has  already  been  drawn 
to  the  great  rarity  of  the  china  cabinet  and  bookcase  in  walnut  ;  therefore 
the  collector  must  always  look  askance  at  those  specimens  which  he  comes 
across.  A  type  of  walnut  bookcase  of  which  a  certain  number  is  found 
to-day  dates  from  about  1725.  It  has  glazed  doors  of  rectangular  panes  set 
in  heavy  bars.  The  bottom,  which  contains  drawers,  is  low  in  proportion 
to  the  upper  part.  These  walnut  bookcases  were  not  made  with  more 
than  two  doors,  as  the  bookcase  with  the  centre  and  two  wings  did  not 
come  into  fashion  until  later  in  the  century. 

The  earliest  cabinets  are  those  with  solid  doors,  generally  inlaid  with 
floral  or  seaweed  marquetry,  supported  by  a  stand  with  spiral  twist  or  baluster 

SO 


A  Bureau  Writing  Cabinet,  overlaid  with  burr  walnut  veneer. 
Circa  1715. 

Fig   3'-  Col.  V. 


A  Bureau  veneered  with  burr  walnut. 
Circa  1735. 

Fig.  34.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Bureau. 
Circa  1740. 

Fig.  35.  Col.  C. 


TABLES  AND  CARD  TABLES 


legs  with  flat  stretchers.  They  will  also  be  found  veneered  with  oyster- 
shell  of  walnut,  lignum  vitas,  or  laburnum  wood.  The  interiors  of  these 
cabinets  generally  contain  a  number  of  small  drawers  of  various  sizes,  the 
fronts  of  the  drawers  being  decorated  similarly  to  the  exterior  of  the  cabinet. 

This  type  of  cabinet  on  a  stand  dates  from  about  1685  to  the  first  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  when  found  to-day  on  its  original  stand  is 
a  particularly  valuable  piece.  Unfortunately,  however,  many  of  the  stands, 
owing  to  their  fragile  construction,  have  been  destroyed,  and  the  majority 
of  these  cabinets  when  met  with  to-day  are  mounted  on  modern  stands. 

This  type  of  cabinet  was  also  made  with  a  bottom  part  composed  of 
drawers.  It  rather  resembles  in  this  form  the  writing  cabinet  with  let-down 
front,  already  described,  except  that  the  two  doors  take  the  place  of  the 
front  of  the  other.  As  this  in  no  way  approaches  in  value  the  cabinet 
on  stand,  the  imitator  often  mounts  the  upper  portion  of  these  cabinets  on 
spurious  stands  with  spiral  twist  or  baluster  turned  legs. 

Tables  and  Card  Tables. — A  most  desirable  table  of  the  Walnut 
period  is  that  with  the  top  measuring  about  3  ft.  by  2  ft.,  generally  with  a 
drawer  in  one  of  the  long  sides,  and  supported  on  spiral  twist  or  baluster 
turned  legs  connected  by  flat  stretchers.  This  type  of  table,  the  earliest 
of  which  dates  from  about  1675,  is  found  sometimes  inlaid  with  mar- 
quetry of  floral  or  seaweed  design,  sometimes  veneered  with  oyster-shell 
veneer  of  walnut  or  laburnum  woods,  but  generally  veneered  with  plain 
walnut.  Genuine  specimens  are  seldom  found  to-day  in  perfect  condition, 
the  tops  and  stretchers  often  being  defective. 

Spurious  specimens  of  this  type  of  table  are  numerous,  especially  those 
decorated  with  marquetry.  They  are  generally  of  new  construction 
throughout,  the  carcase,  drawers,  and  stretchers  being  made  of  old  deal,  and 
the  legs  turned  out  of  solid  walnut. 

This  type  of  table  in  marquetry  must  not  be  confused  with  the  Dutch 
examples.  The  English  table  is  light  and  delicate  in  appearance,  whereas 
the  Dutch  is  larger,  with  heavy,  massive  legs  and  stretchers.  The  tops  of 
these  Dutch  tables  are  also  thicker,  and  ivory  is  more  often  introduced  into 
the  marquetry. 

The  earliest  card  tables  are  of  the  William  and  Mary  period,  similar 
to  the  example  in  lacquer  shown  in  Fig.  30.  The  top  was  circular  when 
open,  and  the  legs  were  turned  and  connected  either  by  stretchers  or  a  base 
board.    Only  a  few  specimens  of  this  early  type  of  table  have  survived. 

5i 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


The  card  table  of  Queen  Anne's  reign  had  the  circular  top  and  the  cabriole 
leg,  but  no  stretchers  (Fig.  29).  The  next  type  had  a  square  top  and  the 
cabriole  leg  ending  either  in  the  claw  and  ball  or  club  foot,  similar  in  shape 
to  the  example  with  the  knees  decorated  with  lion  masks  shown  in  Fig.  45. 

Walnut  card  tables  are  to-day  hard  to  find,  especially  with  their  original 
patina,  as  so  many  have  had  their  surfaces  French  polished.  A  feature  which 
adds  to  their  value  is  that  the  folding  flap  is  sometimes  supported  by  the  two 
back  legs,  in  which  case  the  card  table  when  open  will  have  a  leg  at  each 
corner  ;  this  is  known  as  the  "  Concertina  movement."  Generally  these 
card  tables  are  found  with  the  folding  top  supported  by  one  leg,  which  is 
hinged  on  to  the  framework  of  the  table.  Other  points  of  value  are  seen 
when  shallow  wells  for  counters  are  let  into  the  top  and  the  corners  are 
fitted  with  circular  places  for  the  candlesticks  ;  and  when  the  back  and  front 
legs  are  the  same.1 

The  top  of  the  walnut  card  table  was  invariably  covered  originally  with 
green  silk  velvet  trimmed  with  narrow  gold  braid  on  the  edge  and  fastened 
in  position  by  small  gilt-headed  nails.  A  few  very  rare  examples  have 
survived  with  their  tops  covered  in  gros  or  petit  point  needlework.  The 
design  of  these  needlework  covers  is  either  floral  or  a  landscape  scene,  or  else 
a  design  of  playing  cards. 

Chests-with-Drawers,  Double  Chests,  and  Dressing  Tables. — The 
chest-with-drawers,  sometimes  with  a  stand  and  sometimes  without,  was  a 
piece  of  furniture  of  which  the  earliest  specimens  date  from  about  1680. 
These  early  chests  with  drawers  are  generally  decorated  with  marquetry  and 
are  the  most  usual  pieces  of  marquetry  furniture  found  to-day.  Of  much 
greater  rarity,  however,  is  the  chest-with-drawers  on  stand,  especially  the 
early  examples  in  marquetry.  In  these  chests  the  top  is  inlaid  with 
marquetry  as  well  as  the  front  and  sides,  the  earlier  specimens  with  the 
floral  design  and  the  later  with  the  seaweed  variety. 

The  early  examples  on  stands  have  three  legs  with  spiral  twist  or 
baluster  turning  in  front  and  two  behind  connected  by  the  flat  stretcher  of 
the  period,  the  stands  generally  having  a  shallow  drawer  fitted  just  above  the 
legs.  The  stands  of  the  William  and  Mary  period  have  four  turned  legs 
in  front  instead  of  three,  and  in  the  early  eighteenth  century  the  chests 
on  stands  became  higher  and  the  turned  legs  and  stretchers  gave  way  to 
cabriole  legs  (Fig.  38). 

1  Many  card  tables  were  made  with  claw  and  ball  feet  on  the  front  legs  but  with  plain  club  feet  on  the  back. 

52 


A  corner  Armchair  ;  splats  and  scat  rail  over- 
laid with  burr  walnut  veneer. 
Circa  1730. 

Fig.  40.  Col.  C. 


An  elm  Writing  Chair  of  exceptional  design, 
with  five  legs  ;  back,  and  seat  rail  overlaid  with 
elm  veneer. 

Circa  I  74O. 
Fig.  41.  Col.  C. 


A  painted  beech  Armchair. 
Circa  1 690. 

Fig.  42.  Col.  Q. 


A  mahogany  Winged  Armchair,  upholstered  in 
petit  point  needlework. 
Circa  1735. 
Fig.  43.  Col.  C. 


A  Bureau  of  veneered  walnut  on  baluster-turned  legs  ;  the  two  front 
centre  legs  swing  forward  to  support  the  writing  flap. 
Circa  i  fujo. 

Fig.  44.  Col.  E. 


A  walnut  Card  Table  of  the  lion  mask  period,  with  serpentine  front. 

Circa  1735. 

Fig.  45.  Col.  C. 


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— -  3 
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°  u. 

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CO 


CHESTS  WITH  DRAWERS,  DOUBLE  CHESTS,  ETC. 


Unfortunately,  the  chest  on  a  stand,  in  perfect  condition,  is  to-day  very 
difficult  to  obtain.  The  heavy  weight  of  the  chest  damages  and  breaks  the 
slender  legs  of  the  stand,  so  that  most  of  those  that  have  survived  have  their 
legs  either  missing  or  restored.  In  many  cases  they  are  found  with  the 
stand  resting  on  the  floor  without  the  legs,  and  sometimes  the  chests  with 
four  turned  legs  in  front  will  have  been  restored  with  cabriole  legs,  thus 
having  two  legs  in  front  instead  of  four.  The  collector,  therefore,  should 
subject  these  stands  to  careful  examination. 

A  considerable  number  of  these  chests-with-drawers  must  have  been 
made,  like  the  bureau  and  small  dressing  tables  already  mentioned,  for  they 
exist  to-day  in  larger  numbers  than  any  other  pieces  of  walnut  furniture. 
Chests  on  stands  must  have  been  made  in  walnut  up  to  about  1735,  at  which 
time  they  were  also  made  in  mahogany.1 

The  walnut  dressing  table,  as  opposed  to  the  small  knee-hole  pedestal 
table  and  the  table  with  three  drawers  on  cabriole  legs,  is  a  piece  of  furniture 
of  great  rarity.  An  example  of  a  walnut  dressing  table  is  illustrated 
(Fig.  47).  The  top  of  this  table  lifts  up,  disclosing  a  large  toilet  mirror  and 
sunk  compartments  for  the  necessary  articles  of  toilet.  The  imitator,  in 
order  to  meet  the  demand  for  walnut  dressing  tables  to-day,  generally  makes 
them  either  of  entirely  new  construction  or  utilises  the  stand  of  a  chest-with- 
drawers,  to  which  he  adds  carved  cabriole  legs  or  legs  of  some  other  rare 
type.  As  the  top  of  the  stand  will  not  be  veneered  with  walnut,  he  adds  a 
new  veneered  top.  By  this  adaptation  he  makes  use  of  the  old  carcase  and 
drawers  of  the  original  stand,  thus  making  detection  of  his  spurious  piece 
more  difficult. 

Double  chests-with-drawers,  or  tallboys  as  they  are  more  commonly 
called,  began  to  be  made  in  walnut  about  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  reign. 
The  finest  specimens  that  exist  to-day  have  the  broken  arch  top,  similar  to 
the  corner  cupboard,  Fig.  39.  But  this  is  very  unusual,  straight  moulded 
cornices  being  more  common.  Another  feature  which  adds  to  the  value  of 
these  pieces  is  that  sometimes  the  bottom  drawer  is  made  with  a  concave 
shell  or  niche,  inlaid  with  a  star  design.  The  front  corners  of  the  top  part, 
and  sometimes  the  bottom  part,  are  canted  and  decorated  with  fluting. 
These  double  chests-with-drawers  of  the  more  ordinary}  design  are  in  less 
demand  to-day  than  the  chest  with  stand,  partly  owing  no  doubt  to  the 
difficulty  of  placing  them  elsewhere  than  in  a  bedroom  for  which  they  were 
originally  intended. 

1  Several  of  them  made  in  this  wood  are  extant. 

53 


CHAPTER  V 


LACQUER  FURNITURE 
I 

THE  art  of  lacquering,  which  was  first  invented  by  the  Japanese,  is  of 
very  early  origin,  as  it  is  mentioned  in  their  writings  as  far  back  as 
the  fourth  century.  The  earliest  records  of  lacquer  work  in  England 
are  found  in  inventories  dating  from  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  in  which  are 
mentioned  such  articles  as  Indian  cabinets,  which  was  the  name  given 
at  that  time  to  Oriental  lacquer  cabinets.  It  was  not  until  the  reign  of 
Charles  n.,1  however,  that  lacquer  cabinets  and  screens  first  began  to  be 
imported  in  any  number  into  this  country  from  the  East. 

These  importations  of  lacquer  work  into  England  and  Holland  soon 
caused  craftsmen  to  start  imitating  it  and  extending  its  use  to  other  articles 
of  furniture.  The  new  craft  very  soon  became  extremely  popular,  not  only  as 
an  industry,  but  as  an  occupation  for  the  wealthy  classes.  In  fact,  "japan- 
ning," as  it  was  then  called,  became  so  fashionable  a  pursuit  that  a  book  entitled 
A  Treatise  on  "Japanning  and  Varnishing,  by  John  Stalker  and  George  Parker, 
written  as  a  guide  to  the  amateur  and  giving  many  recipes  for  lacquering  and 
gilding,  was  published  in  1688.  This  imitation  lacquer  was,  however,  very 
different  in  appearance  from  the  Oriental,  which  was  made  from  the  resin  of 
gum  trees,  the  finished  surface  being  smooth  and  hard  with  a  high  polish. 
The  European  variety  was  more  in  the  nature  of  paint  and  varnish,  and  lacked 
the  hard  lustrous  appearance  of  the  original. 

It  is  with  this  lacquer,  made  either  in  England  or  Holland,  that  most 
of  the  lacquer  furniture  extant  to-day  is  decorated.  Oriental  lacquer  pieces 
are  not  so  often  come  across,  although  in  the  late  seventeenth  cenfury  a  very 
large  amount  of  lacquer  furniture  was  imported  into  this  country  ;  this  was 
specially  made  for  the  English  market,  and  designs  of  English  articles  of 
furniture  were  sent  to  the  East  to  be  executed  with  lacquer  decoration. 

1  There  is  a  record  that  Charles  a.  possessed  two  "Jappan  Cabinets"  for  which  the  sum  of^ioo  was 
paid.    These  undoubtedly  formed  part  of  the  new  furniture  bought  for  his  palace  at  Whitehall. 

54 


LACQUER  FURNITURE 


The  only  examples  of  English  lacquer  that  have  come  down  to  us  in 
any  considerable  number  from  the  reign  of  Charles  n.  are  the  square  cabinets 
mounted  on  elaborately  carved  wood  and  gilt  stands.  One  of  the  finest 
examples  extant  is  the  cabinet  dating  from  the  last  half  of  Charles  n.'s  reign, 
in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London.  The  rendering  of  the  design 
is  bold  and  Oriental  in  character,  but  has  a  distinct  European  feeling — a 
characteristic  most  noticeable  in  the  earlier  specimens  of  English  work. 
Another  feature  of  the  early  work  was  the  introduction  into  the  design  of 
various  colours,  such  as  greens  and  reds  ;  for  instance,  on  the  cabinet 
mentioned  above,  a  very  true  copy  of  the  green  found  in  famille  verte  china 
has  been  reproduced  on  the  plumage  of  the  birds  and  in  the  flowers.  In 
earlier  work  a  far  larger  portion  of  the  design  is  in  relief  than  is  the  case  in 
later  examples.  This  raised  portion  of  the  design  was  formed  of  com- 
position, which  was  applied  on  to  the  surface.  The  design  on  the  later 
examples  is  much  more  detailed  and  finished,  and  a  closer  imitation  of  the 
Oriental  work,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  cabinets  illustrated  (Figs.  48  and  49). 

Judging  from  the  examples  that  have  survived,  lacquer  cabinets  date 
from  the  last  years  of  Charles  11.  till  about  1730.  The  earlier  ones  were 
mounted  on  carved  wood  and  gilt  or  silvered  stands,  whilst  the  eighteenth 
century  examples,  which  generally  had  their  stands  lacquered,  were  sometimes 
made  with  turned  legs  connected  by  stretchers,  but  more  often  with  cabriole 
legs.  The  earliest  examples  in  lacquer  that  have  survived  of  such  pieces  of 
furniture  as  the  bureau  bookcase,  the  chest-with-drawers,  and  the  table,  date 
from  the  last  years  of  William  and  Mary's  reign.  All  this  seventeenth 
century  lacquer  furniture  is,  however,  extremely  rare,  as  the  majority  of 
what  is  extant  dates  from  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


II 

The  following  are  the  most  usual  articles  found  in  English  lacquer  to-day  : 

Cabinets  on  gilt,  silvered,  gesso,  or  lacquered  stand.1 
Writing  Cabinets  with  fall-down  fronts. 
Chests-with-Drawers  with  and  without  stands. 
Chests. 

Corner  Cupboards. 

1  Sometimes  lacquer  cabinets  are  found  mounted  on  chests-with-drawers. 

55 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Bureaux  and  Bureau  Bookcases  and  small  Bureaux  on  stands  with 

legs. 
Toilet  Glasses. 

Card  Tables  and  Writing  Tables. 

Small  pedestal  Dressing  Tables,  and  also  small  Tables  on  cabriole  legs 

with  three  drawers. 
Long  Case,  Bracket,  and  Wall  Clocks. 
Chairs. 

Mirrors  and  Picture  Frames  and  early  eighteenth  century  Barometers. 

All  these  are  exactly  similar  in  shape  and  design  to  the  contemporary 
walnut  furniture,  with  the  exception  of  the  cabinet  on  stand.  Long  case 
clocks  have  survived  in  the  largest  numbers  ;  next  to  this  are  the  chests-with- 
drawers  and  the  cabinets  on  lacquered  stands,  the  bureau  bookcases,  the 
bracket  and  wall  clocks,  toilet  mirrors,  and  corner  cupboards.  The  remain- 
ing articles  are  much  rarer,  especially  cabinets  on  gilt,  silvered,  or  gesso 
stands,  chairs,  writing  tables,  and  card  tables. 


Ill 

Lacquering  was  done  on  grounds  of  various  colours,  and  from  examples 
extant  to-day  it  can  be  seen  that  black,  red,  green,  blue,  and  buff  were  most 
frequently  used.  Examples  with  a  black  ground  are  to-day  by  far  the  most 
common  ;  green  and  blue  grounds  are  occasionally  found.  The  red  ground 
is  still  rarer  ;  but  examples  in  buff  colour  are  by  far  the  rarest  of  any — in 
fact,  only  a  few  genuine  examples  are  known  to  exist. 

Lacquer  furniture  went  out  of  fashion  about  1730,  and  the  only  articles 
that  appear  to  have  been  made  in  any  quantity  after  this  date  were  clock 
cases. 

About  1750,  when  the  Chinese  taste  again  came  into  vogue,  lacquering 
revived,  but  as  examples  of  this  later  lacquer  work  are  scarce  it  could  not 
have  been  so  popular.  The  leading  cabinetmakers  of  this  period,  such  as 
Thomas  Chippendale,  mention,  in  the  pattern  books  which  they  published 
of  their  designs,  the  fact  that  certain  of  these  designs  would  be  suitable  for 
"japanning." 


56 


A  writing  Cabinet  with  fall-down  flap;  decorated  in  black  and  gold  English  lacquer.  (This 
type  of  writing  cabinet  is  frequently  found  of  walnut  and  sometimes  of  marquetry.  It  was 
the  popular  form  of  writing  cabinet  before  the  introduction  of  the  bureau  bookcase. ) 

Circa  1700. 

Fig.  50.  Col.  L. 


LACQUER  FURNITURE 


GENUINE  AND  SPURIOUS  LACQUER 

The  col!  ctor  who  wishes  to  purchase  genuine  pieces  of  old  English 
lacquer  furnrcure  will  find  many  pitfalls  in  his  way.  Lacquer  furniture, 
unlike  oak  and  walnut,  has  not  been  improved  by  the  course  of  time,  and 
untouched  pieces  in  good  condition  are  very  scarce  and  hard  to  find.  In 
such  pieces  the  gilt  design  stands  out  brilliantly  against  the  dark  back- 
ground, and  any  touches  of  colour  will  also  show  up  and  add  to  the 
decorative  effect.  This  brilliancy  of  the  untouched  piece  is  well  exempli- 
fied by  the  pieces  illustrated.  Unfortunately  many  examples  are  found  in 
a  very  dilapidated  state.  Sometimes  the  surface  of  the  lacquer  will  be 
scratched  and  dented,  but  more  often  the  piece  will  be  thickly  coated  with 
mastic  varnish,  which  in  bad  cases  will  have  so  hidden  the  design  that  only 
the  raised  portions  of  it  are  left.  Pieces  in  this  condition  do  not  serve  any 
decorative  purpose,  and  although  this  varnish  can  be  removed  by  a  skilled 
workman,  the  result  is  never  satisfactory  nor  in  any  way  comparable  with 
the  appearance  of  a  piece  in  its  original  condition. 

There  are  also  many  pieces  which  are  to-day  in  a  more  or  less  restored 
state  ;  not  only  in  the  restoration  of  the  lacquer  surface,  but,  in  such  pieces 
as  the  chest-with-drawers  on  stand,  with  the  stands 1  either  entirely  new  or 
very  much  restored.  The  collector  will  therefore  realise  how  important  it 
is  carefully  to  examine  each  piece,  as  the  amount  of  restoration  it  has 
received  will  naturally  affect  its  value. 

Besides  these  restored  pieces  of  genuine  lacquer  furniture,  the  collector 
will  come  across  many  pieces  of  an  entirely  spurious  nature.  These  will 
sometimes  take  the  form  of  old  pieces  of  furniture  enhanced  in  value  by 
modern  lacquering.  The  articles  generally  chosen  for  this  purpose  include  the 
oak  chest-with-drawers,  the  oak  long  case  clock,  and  the  oak  or  mahogany 
tripod  table.  These  pieces  being  numerous  and  quite  plain  in  character  are 
considerably  increased  in  value  by  being  converted  into  lacquer  examples. 

Besides  this  lacquering  of  old  pieces,  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  lacquer 
furniture  made  to-day  of  entirely  new  construction.  For  instance,  the  rare 
lacquer  cabinet  on  carved  wood  and  gilt  stand,  of  the  time  of  Charles  n.,  is 
extensively  reproduced.  The  imitator  makes  these  spurious  cabinets  as 
attractive  as  possible,  decorating  them  in  all  the  rare  colours  of  the  old 
lacquer,  especially  the  red  and  the  buff.    In  order  to  add  to  their  appear- 

1  The  remarks  made  about  walnut  chests  on  stands  in  Chapter  IV  refer  also  to  the  lacquer  examples. 

57 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


ance  he  will  sometimes  lacquer  the  outside  of  a  cabinet  buff  and  the  interior 
blue.  In  genuine  examples  this  is  never  found,  as  the  inside  of  a  cabinet 
was  always  the  same  colour  as  the  exterior.  The  stand  of  the  cabinet  will 
be  copied  from  the  rare  and  elaborately  carved  gilt  stand  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Another  method  by  which  the  imitator  makes  spurious  examples  of 
these  seventeenth  century  cabinets  is  by  mounting  genuine  early  eighteenth 
century  lacquer  cabinets,  of  which  a  large  number  exist  to-day  with  their 
original  lacquer  stands  either  lost  or  in  bad  condition,  on  spurious  stands  of 
seventeenth  century  design.  Sometimes  these  spurious  stands  will  take  the 
form  of  gilt  stands1  with  cabriole  legs  elaborately  carved  with  satyr  masks. 
The  imitator  will  also  make  copies  of  such  pieces  as  the  small  bureau  on 
stand,  the  card  table,  the  china  cabinet,  and  all  such  articles  which  are 
hardly  ever  met  with  to-day  in  genuine  lacquer. 

The  following  notes  concerning  the  appearance  of  genuine  old  lacquer 
may  prove  of  use  to  the  collector. 

The  lacquered  surface  of  a  piece  of  furniture,  through  constant  rubbing 
and  dusting,  over  a  long  period,  will  have  the  gilding  on  the  raised  portions 
of  the  design  worn  away,  showing  the  composition2  ground  underneath. 
Parts  of  a  piece  which  have  been  constantly  handled,  such  as  a  cupboard 
door,  or  the  edge  of  the  flap  of  a  bureau,  will  show  the  lacquering  worn 
away,  and  in  many  cases  the  bare  wood  of  the  carcase  will  be  exposed. 
Another  characteristic  of  genuine  lacquer  is  that,  owing  to  its  surface  being 
soft,  the  lacquer,  even  in  a  piece  in  fine  condition,  will,  on  careful  examina- 
tion, show  a  number  of  small  indentations  and  scratches.  These  are 
especially  noticeable  under  the  key-holes  of  the  flap  and  the  doors  to  the 
upper  part  of  a  bureau  bookcase.  These  scratches  and  indentations  will  have 
been  caused  by  the  former  owners,  in  locking  and  unlocking  the  cabinet, 
having  used  a  key  on  a  bunch  which  knocked  against  the  surface  of  the 
lacquer.3  These  marks  are  sometimes  noticeable  on  walnut  pieces  ;  the 
test,  however,  is  generally  applicable  only  to  articles  like  the  bureau  and 
the  writing  table,  which  would  frequently  be  locked  by  a  key  on  a  bunch, 
and  not  to  the  door  of  a  long  case  clock,  where  the  key,  being  infrequently 
used,  would  in  most  cases  be  left  in  the  lock. 

1  For  the  detection  of  a  spurious  gilt  stand  of  this  description,  several  notes  in  the  next  chapter  will  be 
found  of  practical  value. 

2  On  spurious  pieces  this  white  composition  is  hidden  by  the  red  ground  of  the  modern  gilding.  See 
p.  65. 

3  See  the  red  lacquer  bureau- bookcase,  No.  10-34,  191 3,  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 

58 


LACQUER  FURNITURE 


Another  important  point  that  is  peculiar  to  genuine  lacquer  is  that  the 
portions  of  the  design  in  relief,  which  have  been  formed  in  composition  and 
applied  on  to  the  wooden  carcase  of  the  piece,  will  crack  in  the  course  of 
time  ;  and  in  many  old  pieces  these  raised  portions  will  exhibit  a  network 
of  fine  cracks.  In  many  cases  the  applied  composition  will  have  become 
loose  and  dropped  off"  and  the  exposed  surface  of  the  wood  will  have  an  old 
and  patinated  appearance. 

When  lacquer  furniture  was  originally  made,  it  was  finished  with  a  coat 
of  thin  varnish.  This  varnish,  through  exposure  to  the  air,  darkens  in  time 
and  gives  a  rich  translucent  effect  to  the  once  bright  gilding.  This  is 
specially  noticeable  if  the  gilding  of  the  interior  of  a  cabinet,  which  has  not 
been  exposed  to  the  air,  is  compared  with  the  gilding  on  the  outside.  One 
will  be  bright  and  new-looking,  whilst  the  other  will  have  turned  to  a  much 
darker  and  more  mellow  tone. 

If  the  collector,  by  studying  genuine  pieces  of  old  lacquer,  becomes 
familiar  with  these  characteristics,  it  will  help  him  considerably  to  recognise 
modern  lacquering,  as  none  of  these  details  is  found  on  the  pieces  made  by 
the  imitator.  It  would  take  too  much  time  and  labour  to  reproduce  them 
accurately,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so. 

With  regard  to  the  making  of  these  spurious  pieces,  the  carcase  is 
generally  made  out  of  pine.1  After  its  surface  has  been  rubbed  down,  the 
wood  receives  three  or  four  coats  of  a  specially  prepared  paint,  the  last  coat 
being  the  colour  of  the  ground  ;  on  this  painted  surface  the  design  is  then 
drawn  and  the  raised  portions  applied.  When  the  design  has  been  gilded,'2  the 
surface  is  treated  with  a  thin  coat  of  French  polish,  on  the  top  of  which  is 
coated  a  stiff"  paste  or  starch.  The  strong  drawing  power  of  the  paste  causes 
the  surface  of  the  polish  to  crack.  On  the  paste  being  washed  off",  a  dark 
coloured  wax  is  well  worked  into  these  artificial  cracks,  thus  emphasising 
them,  and  adding  to  their  antique  appearance. 

The  cracks  made  in  this  manner  will  be  large  and  wide,  similar  in  char- 
acter to  the  cracks  found  on  old  oil-paintings.  Cracks  of  this  description  will 
never  be  seen  on  genuine  lacquer,  on  which  they  are  always  very  fine  and 
hardly  perceptible.  Another  difference  between  the  old  pieces  and  the 
spurious  is  that  the  genuine  drop  handle,  so  often  found  on  lacquer  furniture, 

1  The  majority  of  genuine  pieces  have  their  carcases  of  deal,  with  the  exception  of  tables  and  clock  cases, 
which  were  generally  made  of  oak.  Pine  for  the  carcase  work  of  English  furniture  was  not  used  until  later 
in  the  eighteenth  century. 

2  In  the  cheaper  type  of  modern  lacquer,  which  is  generally  a  confessed  reproduction,  gold  bronze  powder 
is  used  instead  of  real  gold,  for  the  decoration,  as  it  is  a  much  cheaper  material. 

59 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 

was  fixed  on  to  a  double  strip  of  brass  which  pierced  the  drawer  front,  and 
the  two  ends  of  the  strip  were  embedded  into  the  wood  on  the  inside  of  the 
drawer.  In  the  modern  handles  the  ends  of  the  strip  of  brass  are  kept  in 
position  by  small  brads  or  pins  which  are  driven  into  the  wood.  There  is 
also  a  difference  between  the  old  and  new  mounts  on  lacquer  cabinets.  The 
original  examples  were  water  gilt,  whereas  the  imitations  are  electro  gilt. 


60 


CHAPTER  VI 


GESSO  AND  GILT  FURNITURE 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

ALTHOUGH  gilding  is  known  to  have  been  used  in  conjunction  with 
bright  colours  for  the  decoration  of  furniture  in  mediaeval  times,  the 
earliest  gilt  articles  which  now  survive  are  the  stands  of  Carolean 
cabinets.  But  it  was  only  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  that 
gilt  furniture  became  fashionable.  The  taste  for  it  was  undoubtedly  de- 
veloped by  the  introduction  of  a  new  process  known  as  Gesso. 

In  this  process,  the  wood  was  first  covered  with  a  composition  of 
whitening  and  other  ingredients  to  a  thickness  of  from  x3ff  to  ^  of  an 
inch,  according  to  the  depth  of  the  chosen  design  ;  on  this  prepared  surface 
the  design  was  carved  in  low  relief  and  the  gilding  applied  in  the  usual 
way.1  In  order  to  enrich  the  appearance,  the  background  of  the  carving  was 
then  matted  or  tooled  and  the  parts  in  relief  were  highly  burnished. 

From  the  rarity  of  gesso  furniture  to-day  it  is  evident  that  only  a  small 
quantity  of  it  could  have  been  made,  and  this  for  the  most  part  must  have 
been  designed  for  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  classes,  since  the  finest  specimens 
are  found  in  such  places  as  Blenheim,  Houghton,  and  Hampton  Court. 
Judging  from  extant  examples,  small  centre  or  side  tables,2  candle  stands 
(torcheres),  mirror  frames,  cabinet  stands,  chests,  chairs,  and  stools  were  the 
articles  most  usually  treated.  Small  panels  of  gesso  work,  either  on  the  splat 
or  the  knee  of  the  cabriole  leg,  are  found  on  walnut  chairs,  stools,  and  settees 
dating  from  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Mirrors  with  gesso  frames  exist  in  larger  numbers  than  any  other 
of  these  articles.3     Tables   and   side  tables   are   met   with  occasionally, 

1  The  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  ornament  in  very  low  relief  can  be  far  more  skilfully  and  easily  cut 
out  of  soft  plaster  than  out  of  wood. 

2  As  gesso  ornamentation  specially  lends  itself  for  the  decoration  of  flat  surfaces,  tables  when  made  in 
gesso  have  their  tops  decorated  with  a  design  in  low  relief,  the  frieze  and  legs  being  treated  in  a  similar  manner. 

3  This  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that,  being  the  first  mirrors  made  with  gilt  frames,  they  were  looked 
upon  in  the  light  of  a  novelty,  and  were  accordingly  in  popular  demand  for  the  first  thirty  or  thirty-five  years 

6i 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


butjj  articles  such  as  torcheres,  chests,  chairs,  and  stools  are  practically 
unprocurable. 

About  1725  the  fashion  for  gesso  furniture  gradually  declined,  largely 
as'a  result  of  new  influences  that  brought  into  vogue  anew  style  of  furniture, 
decorated  with  bold  ornament  in  high  relief,  which  was  carved  out  of  the 
wood  and  then  gilt.  In  this,  as  can  be  seen  from  Fig.  57,  none  of  the 
ornament  is  in  low  relief,  and  the  decorated  wooden  top  of  the  former  tables 
is  replaced  by  marble.  There  was  therefore  no  occasion  to  employ  gesso. 
The  satyr  mask  carved  on  the  knees  is  directly  adapted  from  the  style  of 
Louis  Quatorze,  for  the  gilt  furniture  during  this  short  period,  unlike  the 
walnut  and  mahogany,  is  strongly  reminiscent  of  the  contemporary  French 
furniture  in  its  motifs  of  design. 

From  about  1730  the  design  of  gilt  furniture  was  influenced  by 
architects,  prominent  among  whom  was  William  Kent,  who  designed  a 
considerable  amount  of  furniture  for  the  houses  that  he  built  or  decorated. 
This  was  of  heavy  and  massive  design,  and  an  example  of  it  is  shown  in 
the  side  table  (Fig.  58).  The  well-known  type  of  gilt  console  table  with 
marble  top,  supported  by  an  eagle  with  wings  outspread,  dates  from  this 
period.  About  1745  the  architectural  style  began  to  wane,  and  a  number  of 
carved  wood  gilt  side  and  console  tables  have  survived,  showing  the  French 
and  Chinese  influences  which  were  prominent  from  this  date  to  about  1770. 

Furniture  with  the  wood  carved  and  gilt  is  to-day  as  rare  as  the  earlier 
variety  decorated  with  gesso,  and  as  in  gesso,  the  pieces  most  frequently 
found  are  mirrors  and  side  tables,  with  the  addition  of  console  tables,  which 
originated  in  this  period  and  became  very  popular.  Suites  of  gilt  furniture 
by  Kent,  dating  from  this  period,  and  consisting  of  chairs,  stools,  and  settees, 
similar  to  those  designed  for  Devonshire  House,  are  also  extant,  although 
very  rare.  These  suites  were  sometimes  in  mahogany  and  gilt,  and  in  most 
cases  were  adapted  by  him  from  Italian  models. 

The  gilt  furniture  of  the  Adam  school  of  design,  which  dates  from 
about  1775  to  the  end  of  the  century,  is  more  fully  described  in  Chapter  X. 

GENUINE  AND  SPURIOUS 

The  surface  of  most  of  the  gesso  furniture  was  originally  covered  with 
a  thin  transparent  varnish,  and  the  effect  of  this  varnishing  on  the  gold  is 

of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  were  the  only  articles  of  gesso  furniture  that  were  not  confined  to  the 
patronage  of  the  wealthy. 

62 


GESSO  AND  GILT  FURNITURE 


exactly  the  same  as  that  on  the  gold  decoration  of  lacquer  furniture,  already 
described  in  the  last  chapter.  This  toning  of  the  gold  by  the  darkening  of 
the  varnish  through  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  gives  those  pieces  of  furniture 
found  to-day  that  translucent  and  metallic  appearance  which  is  such  a 
beautiful  and  attractive  feature  of  the  genuine  and  untouched  example. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  exceptional  to  find  a  piece,  dating  from  this  period, 
in  this  desirable  condition,  the  main  reason  being  that  most  of  the  examples 
now  extant  have  in  recent  times  been  regilt.  This  modern  gilding  can  in  no 
way  be  compared  with  the  old,  as  it  lacks  the  rich  and  mature  tone  of  the 
original,  being  paler  and  lighter  in  colour.1 

Many  pieces  of  gilt  furniture  are  also  found  with  their  surfaces  painted, 
generally  in  a  black  or  brown  tone.  It  is  sometimes  possible  to  remove  this 
paint,  when  the  old  gilding  will  be  found  underneath  ;  in  most  cases  it  will 
be  very  bright,  although  a  considerable  amount  will  need  to  be  restored. 
Pieces  thus  treated  are  by  no  means  of  so  decorative  a  value  as  those  which 
have  had  their  gilt  surfaces  toned  by  the  course  of  time.  Sometimes  old 
pieces  will  have  had  their  surfaces  renovated  with  gold  paint,  which  is  very 
undesirable,  as  it  cannot  be  removed,  and  in  the  course  of  time  goes  a  very  dark 
colour  through  becoming  tarnished.  Regilding  is  specially  injurious  be- 
cause it  obscures  and  fills  up  the  tooling  or  stamping  of  the  backgrounds  of 
the  design,  besides  giving  a  rounded  or  worn  down  effect  to  the  low  relief 
decoration  which,  in  an  untouched  condition,  is  sharp  and  clearly  defined  : 
this  is  due  to  the  old  gilding  having  first  to  be  removed,  and  the  surface 
prepared  before  the  new  gilding  is  applied. 

Regilding  is  not  the  only  depreciator  of  the  value  of  gesso  furniture,  as 
many  pieces  are  met  with  either  much  restored  or  in  an  imperfect  condition. 
Many  gesso  tables,  for  instance,  are  found  to-day  with  new  tops,  as  the  low 
relief  ornament  in  plaster  is  very  susceptible  to  wear  and  bad  usage.  Some- 
times they  will  be  restored  with  a  new  gesso  top,  in  which  case  the 
entire  piece  will  be  regilt  to  give  the  old  and  new  parts  the  same  appearance. 
In  many  other  cases  the  dilapidated  top  will  have  been  replaced  by  a  marble 
one,  but  this  is  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the  table,  for  it  can  be  said  with 
certainty  that  these  tables  were  never  designed  for  any  other  but  the  low 
relief  gesso  top. 

1  This  refers  more  to  the  Victorian  gilding,  as  the  quite  modern  variety  has  been  brought  much  nearer  in 
appearance  to  the  old,  through  the  efforts  of  the  imitator,  who  endeavours  to  copy  the  old  gilding  so  as  to 
deceive  the  unwary.  The  Victorian  gilding  was  not  done  with  this  intention,  but  simply  to  brighten  and  to 
renovate  the  dulled  gilt  on  old  pieces  which  to-day  would  be  considered  a  point  of  merit,  but  in  that  age  of 
vandalism  was  thought  shabby  and  ugly. 

63 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


All  types  of  gilt  furniture  have  received  attention  from  the  imitator,  as, 
owing  to  his  success  in  copying  the  antique  appearance  of  genuine  old  gilding, 
he  has  a  wide  field  for  his  spurious  work.  As  already  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  on  Lacquer,  he  extensively  copies  the  carved  wood  and  gilt  stands  of 
the  seventeenth  century  lacquer  cabinet.  A  number  of  genuine  cabinet 
stands  are  found,  to-day,  painted  ;  this  habit  of  painting  old  gilt  furniture 
has  already  been  commented  upon.  The  imitator,  to  make  detection  of  his 
spurious  stands  more  difficult,  will  sometimes  gild  or  silver  a  stand,  and  then 
paint  it.  This  painted  surface  he  will  then  fake,  chipping  ofF  the  paint  in 
parts,  so  as  to  disclose  the  gilding  or  silvering  underneath.  Sometimes  these 
original  stands,  being  separated  from  their  cabinets,  are  found  converted  into 
tables  by  the  addition  of  marble  tops.  They  were  never  made  originally  in 
this  form,  but  as  they  are  saleable  to-day,  the  imitator  produces  spurious 
copies  to  meet  the  demand.  These  can  generally  be  recognised,  as  in  many 
cases  they  will  not  be  of  the  same  dimensions  as  the  genuine  cabinet  stand  ; 
but  will  be  longer  and  narrower,  to  conform  to  the  usual  proportions  of  a 
table.  The  design  of  these  stands  usually  follows  that  of  the  Charles  n. 
example,  with  the  deep  apron  pieces  carved  with  amorini  amidst  foliage. 

In  gesso  furniture  the  imitator  not  only  produces  examples  of  entirely 
new  construction,  such  as  imitations  of  chairs,  tables,  and  torcheres,  but  he 
also  enhances  the  value  of  plain  examples  of  genuine  furniture,  dating  from 
this  period,  with  gesso  ornament.  One  of  the  articles  most  used  for  this 
purpose  is  the  plain  early  eighteenth  century  toilet  glass  ;  but  no  genuine 
example  of  a  toilet  glass  decorated  with  gesso  is  known.  Another  favourite 
method  of  enhancing  the  value  of  plain  Queen  Anne  furniture  is  to  decorate 
the  splats  and  legs  of  chairs  with  gesso  panels.  Of  the  carved  wood  and  gilt 
furniture,  dating  from  about  1720  to  about  1745,  he  will  also  make  imitations 
of  an  elaborate  character,  particularly  the  carved  wood  and  gilt  side  table. 
These  spurious  tables  are  heavily  laden  with  ornament,  and  have  none  of  the 
refined  lines  and  proportion  of  the  original.  The  imitator  will  also  frequently 
copy  the  table  of  the  architectural  style,  adopting  the  very  heavy  scroll 
leg,  decorated  with  scaling  and  elaborately  carved  swags  suspended  from  the 
frieze.  This  kind  of  spurious  table  will  often  be  found  painted  either  black 
or  brown  with  only  the  carving  gilt.  This  variation  is  mainly  due  to  the 
fact  that  a  painted  surface  lends  itself  specially  to  being  faked,  so  as  to  give 
it  an  appearance  of  age.  The  collector,  to  safeguard  himself  against  spurious 
furniture  of  this  description,  should  remember  the  great  rarity  of  the  genuine 
example  to-day. 

64 


GESSO  AND  GILT  FURNITURE 


The  following  brief  remarks  describe  one  or  two  essential  differences 
between  original  and  spurious  gilding. 

The  surface  of  gilt  furniture  in  its  original  condition  will  become 
patinated  in  a  similar  way  to  oak  and  walnut.  Unlike  the  oak  and  walnut 
furniture,  its  surface  is  not  polished  with  beeswax  or  oil  ;  it  will,  however, 
naturally  be  dusted,  and  the  effects  of  this  will  be  discernible  on  a  piece 
with  its  original  gilding,  as  its  surface  will  wear,  and  the  raised  portions  of 
the  ornament  will  show  the  plaster  ground  where  the  gilding  has  been  worn 
off*  by  constant  dusting.  This  feature  is  most  noticeable  on  the  low  relief 
ornament  of  gesso  furniture.  As  already  pointed  out  in  the  chapters  on  Oak 
and  Walnut,  dust  plays  an  important  part  in  the  making  of  the  patina, 
accumulating  in  the  interstices  of  the  carving,  and  forming  a  dark  setting  to 
the  lighter  projecting  parts  of  the  carved  design.  Although  dust  does  not 
enrich  the  effect  of  gilding  in  a  similar  manner,  it  affects  its  present-day 
condition  in  such  a  way  as  to  help  the  collector  to  distinguish  genuine  gilding 
from  the  modern  spurious  imitation.  On  a  genuine  piece  of  gilt  furniture, 
such  as  a  table,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  portions  of  the  table  that  face 
upwards  will  be  dark  in  comparison  with  those  parts  which  face  downwards  ; 
the  reason  being  that  dust  has  fallen  on  the  upturned  portions,  where  it  lay 
and  gradually  darkened  the  surface  of  the  gilding.  Those  parts  of  the  table 
facing  downwards  will  show  the  gilding  much  brighter  in  comparison  as, 
owing  to  their  position,  these  parts  will  not  be  affected  by  the  dust.  The 
sullying  effect  of  dust  in  this  manner  can  be  readily  recognised  on  an  old 
gilt  picture  frame  ;  if  the  frame  was  always  hung  in  the  same  position,  the 
bottom,  upturned  side  of  the  frame  will  be  perceptibly  darker  than  the  inside 
top  of  the  frame,  which  will  face  downwards. 

This  effect  of  the  darkening  of  gilding  by  dust,  although  more  accentuated 
on  original  gilt  pieces  of  the  early  eighteenth  century,  will  also  be  discernible 
on  pieces  gilt  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago.  Therefore  it  can  only 
be  used  as  a  test  for  that  gilding  which  is  of  quite  recent  manufacture.  The 
imitator,  in  his  spurious  pieces,  does  not  imitate  this  undoubted  but  subtle 
sign  of  certain  age.1 

The  chief  feature  of  the  spurious  imitation  of  old  gilding  is  generally 
the  fact  that  the  gilding  is  applied  on  to  a  red  ground,  which  is  specially 
noticeable  because  the  imitator,  in  order  to  simulate  the  appearance  of  age, 
rubs  off  the  gilding,  and  thus  exposes  the  ground  underneath.    This  gilding 

1  As  an  example  of  this  effect  of  dust  darkening  portions  of  a  piece  of  gilt  furniture  the  Louis  Quatorze 
gilt  torchere  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London,  ihould  be  examined. 

E  65 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


on  a  red  ground  is  characteristic  more  of  spurious  or  modern  gilding  than  of 
genuine  work.  To  tone  down  the  brightness  of  the  gold,  the  imitator  applies 
a  wash  of  stain  over  the  gilt  surface.  By  gently  wiping  the  gilt  surface  with 
a  damp  cloth,  this  stain  can  be  removed,  thus  exposing  the  bright  gilding 
underneath.  It  will  take  two  or  three  years  for  the  gilding  to  become 
sufficiently  hard  to  resist  this  test.  Spurious  gilding,  however,  when  it  is 
three  or  four  years  old,  can  then  generally  be  recognised  by  its  even  dark 
tone,  caused  through  dust  adhering  to  its  faked  and  sticky  surface,  and  this 
gradual  alteration  in  tone  results,  ultimately,  in  the  loss  of  its  antique  appear- 
ance. If  the  imitator  was  content  to  gild  his  furniture,  and  leave  it  for  time 
to  tone  down,  in  the  course  of  thirty  or  forty  years  there  would  be  a  much 
greater  similarity  between  his  gilding  and  the  genuine  gilding  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Owing,  however,  to  commercial  reasons,  it  is  not  possible  for  him 
to  do  this,  as  he  must  obtain  an  appearance  of  age  straight  away. 


SILVERED  FURNITURE 

From  the  time  of  Charles  n.  to  that  of  William  and  Mary,  articles 
were  sometimes  silvered  instead  of  gilded,  and  this  silvered  work  is,  to-day, 
the  more  highly  prized  because  of  its  rarity.  Gesso  furniture  was  never 
silvered,  and  the  examples  that  have  survived  are  confined  to  the  stands 
of  cabinets  and  picture  frames,  dating  from  the  last  thirty  years  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  stands  of  the  two  lacquer  cabinets  illustrated 
(Figs.  48  and  49)  are  good  examples  of  this  genuine  silvering.  Genuine  old 
silvered  work,1  owing  to  its  having  been  varnished  originally,  like  the  gilt 
furniture,  has  a  yellow  tinge  over  its  surface,  specially  noticeable  in  the 
crevices  of  the  carved  design.  The  surface  of  the  old  silvering  is  also 
generally  covered  with  a  fine  network  of  cracks,  and  these  are  much  more 
noticeable  on  silvered  than  on  gilded  work.  These  characteristics  of  old 
silvered  work  should  be  carefully  noticed  on  genuine  examples,  as  they  will 
be  a  safeguard  to  the  collector  against  the  spurious  imitation  which  is 
extensively  made  at  the  present  time.  The  imitations  lack  these  peculiarities, 
as  it  is  time  alone  that  can  produce  them. 

1  These  silvered  carved  wood  articles  must  not  be  confused  with  furniture  of  solid  silver,  or  covered  with 
very  thin  sheet  silver,  the  few  surviving  specimens  of  which  are  confined  to  tables,  torcheres,  and  mirror  frames. 
These,  naturally,  are  of  great  value  and  extreme  rarity,  and  most  known  examples  date  from  the  late  seventeenth 
century. 


66 


CHAPTER  VII 

MIRRORS 

i 660-1 800 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

THE  glass  mirror  was  not  invented  until  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  only  form  of  mirror  prior  to  this  time  being  that  made  of  polished 
metal.  The  method  of  silvering  glass  was  discovered  by  the  Vene- 
tians, who  monopolised  the  making  of  glass  mirror  plates  until  a  factory 
was  established  in  Paris  about  1665.  In  England  about  1670  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham's  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  glass  and  mirror  plates  was  set 
up  at  Vauxhall.  The  early  mirrors  that  have  survived  from  the  reign  of 
Charles  11.  are  small  and  square  or  oblong  in  shape  ;  the  frames  are  of  a 
bold  heavy  section  decorated  with  either  plain  walnut  veneer,  oyster-shell,  or 
marquetry,  similar  to  Fig.  52.  Mirror  frames  of  this  period  were  also 
decorated  with  tortoise-shell  and  metal  mounts,  and  sometimes  with  needle- 
work or  beadwork,  the  making  of  which  was  so  fashionable  a  pursuit  in  the 
Stuart  days.  Mirrors  of  this  type  were  also  made  with  their  frames  in 
lacquer,  and  there  are  also  one  or  two  examples  extant  with  embossed  silver 
frames,  but  these  were  made  by  the  silversmith  and  not  by  the  cabinet- 
maker. 

At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  mirrors  were  remarkable  for  their  height,  being  so  made  to  accord 
with  the  greater  height  of  the  rooms  of  the  new  mansions.  Mirrors  of  this 
tall  type  were  always  made  of  two  plates,  the  ostensible  reason  being  that 
at  this  period  glass  sheets  could  not  be  made  longer  than  4  ft.  without 
running  them  too  thin  to  stand  grinding.  Whether  this  was  the  only 
reason  cannot  definitely  be  stated  ;  but  the  decorative  value  is  greatly 
enhanced  by  their  being  made  in  two  plates  instead  of  one,  and  as  the  small 
mirrors  were  also  made  in  this  manner  it  would  appear  that  the  old  designers 
did  realise  the  value  and  proportion  added  to  a  mirror  by  having  its  surface 

67 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


divided  into  two  planes.  These  mirrors  are  sometimes  found  with  frames 
of  veneered  walnut,  or,  more  rarely,  with  glass  borders  set  in  metal  mounts. 
Sometimes  the  glass  borders  were  decorated  with  bevelling,  and  at  the 
corners  the  joints  would  be  covered  with  shaped  pieces  of  a  deep  blue  glass  ; 
similar  frames  to  this  are  also  decorated  with  a  design  on  the  back,  of  the 
glass  borders,  the  ornament  being  generally  in  the  style  of  Boule  and 
executed  in  gold  on  a  black,  blue,  green,  or  red  ground  (Fig.  51). 

Mention  was  made  in  the  preceding  chapter  on  Gesso  and  Gilt 
Furniture  of  mirrors  with  gilt  gesso  frames  which  first  appeared  at  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  during  the  time  of  Queen  Anne  these  gesso 
mirrors  and  those  with  plain  walnut  frames  were  both  very  popular  types. 
Lacquer  mirrors  also  shared  this  popularity,  although  fewer  examples  have 
survived,  as  many  must  have  perished  owing  to  the  delicate  nature  of  the 
lacquer.  All  the  above  types  of  mirrors  were  invariably  designed  with 
hoods  similar  to  the  two  examples  illustrated  (Figs.  51  and  52).  The  fine 
mirror  shown  in  Fig.  53,  of  about  1720,  has  its  frame  decorated  in  gesso  and 
the  bolder  parts  in  carved  wood  ;  the  eagles'  heads  decorating  the  hood  or 
cresting  were  a  favourite  motif  of  design  at  this  period,  and,  as  was  pointed 
out  in  Chapter  IV,  are  also  found  on  walnut  furniture.  Another  variety  of 
mirror  made  about  this  time  was  in  walnut  and  gilt,  the  flat  surfaces  of  the 
frame  being  overlaid  with  cross-banded  walnut  veneer  and  the  carved  mould- 
ings gilded.  From  about  1730  mirrors  were  made  on  architectural  lines 
with  a  pediment  top,  as  shown  in  Fig.  55.  This  type  of  architectural 
mirror  varies  in  form  and  design  considerably  ;  and  about  1745  it  gave 
place  to  the  mirror  influenced  by  the  contemporary  French  rococo  style 1 
and  to  mirrors  made  in  the  Chinese  and  Gothic  tastes  which  became  popular 
at  this  period.  These  mirror  frames,  in  the  French,  Chinese,  and  Gothic 
tastes,  showed  many  extravagances,  birds,  animals,  temples,  and  mandarin 
figures  being  pressed  into  service  for  decoration.  Sometimes  the  frames 
of  these  mirrors  were  designed  with  small  ledges  for  supporting  china 
ornaments. 

From  about  1 765-1 800  mirrors  came  under  the  influence  of  the  Adam 
school  of  design.  The  oval-shaped  mirror  became  popular  at  this  period  ; 
and  towards  the  end  of  the  century  mirrors  are  found  of  oval  or  oblong  form 
with  a  cresting  composed  of  swags,  husks,  and  paterae,  made  either  of 
composition  or  wood  and  affixed  to  wires. 

About  1790  the  well-known  circular,  convex  mirror,  surmounted  by  a 

1  See  Fig.  54. 
68 


Minor,  with  glass  borders  in  narrow  carved  and  gilt  frame,  with  elaborately 

carved  cresting. 
Circa  1720. 

Fig-  53-  CoK  °' 


MIRRORS 


carved  eagle,  was  introduced  ;  this  type  of  mirror  continued  to  be  made  in 
large  numbers  well  into  the  nineteenth  century. 

Besides  the  wall  mirrors,  there  was  another  kind  known  as  the  over- 
mantel mirror,  designed  to  rest  on  the  shelf  of  a  chimney-piece.  The  earliest 
of  these,  from  examples  that  have  survived,  would  appear  to  date  from 
Queen  Anne's  reign.  They  have  plain  veneered  walnut  frames  with  a 
narrow  horizontal  glass,  divided  into  three  plates  in  the  lower  portion  : 
and  with  an  oil  painting,  generally  of  still  life,  above  the  glass.1  These 
overmantel  mirrors  do  not  appear  to  have  been  made  during  the  architectural 
period,  but  were  again  introduced  about  1750,  when  they  had  their  frames 
decorated  in  the  French,  Chinese,  and  Gothic  tastes.  Robert  Adam  also 
utilised  these  overmantel  mirrors,  and  there  are  several  existing  to-day, 
designed  by  him  for  houses  which  he  built  and  decorated.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  another  type  of  the  overmantel  mirror  came 
into  fashion  ;  in  this  type  the  glass  was  formed  into  three  divisions,  and  the 
frieze  was  generally  decorated  with  low  relief  ornament  of  Adam  design, 
sometimes  in  carved  wood  but  more  often  in  composition.  This  type  is 
called  a  "  Chelsea  Mirror,"  and  must  have  been  made  up  to  about  1840; 
some  of  those  dating  from  the  early  nineteenth  century  are  ornamented 
with  motifs  of  the  Empire  style  of  design,  such  as  the  sphinx's  head. 


GENUINE  AND  SPURIOUS  MIRRORS 

The  square  or  oblong  mirrors  with  cross-banded,  veneered  walnut 
frames,  dating  from  the  William  and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne  periods,  are 
very  often  met  with  to-day,  especially  those  of  small  size  ;  but  this  cannot 
be  said  of  those  decorated  with  marquetry,  which  are  much  rarer.  Many  of 
these  plain,  walnut-framed  mirrors  therefore  have  had  marquetry  panels  let 
into  their  frames  ;  this  deception  can  be  detected,  as  the  new  work  will  not 
be  level  with  the  old  but  will  be  slightly  sunk  or  concave,  because  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  imitator  to  counteract  the  shrinkage  of  the  new  inlaid  work 
on  it  becoming  dry  and  set.  It  will  also  be  necessary  for  him  to  repolish 
the  whole  of  the  frame  after  he  has  completed  the  deception.  These  mirrors 
are  often  found  to-day  with  the  hoods  missing,  as  owing  to  their  fragile 
nature  many  must  have  been  broken  and  lost  in  the  course  of  time.  If  the 
back  of  the  mirror  is  examined,  the  slots  where  the  hood  was  originally  fixed 

1  A  few  are  extant  with  a  needlework  panel  in  place  of  the  picture. 

69 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


will  be  seen.  This  applies  not  only  to  the  walnut  marquetry  and  lacquer- 
framed  mirrors  of  this  period,  but  also  to  the  mirrors  with  glass  borders. 
The  collector  should  therefore  understand  that  when  he  meets  with  a  mirror 
of  this  type  without  a  hood  it  is  imperfect. 

The  tall  type  of  mirror  in  walnut  of  large  dimensions  is  especially  rare 
to-day  ;  and  the  type  with  bevelled  and  decorated  glass  borders  is  still  rarer. 
Most  examples  extant  of  the  latter  type  have  the  background  of  the  borders 
black  ;  mirrors  with  the  blue,  green,  and  red  colourings  in  the  borders  are 
exceptionally  rare.  The  design  on  the  borders  is  usually  found,  however, 
in  a  very  perished  state,  but  this  can  be  so  restored  that  the  old  and  new  parts 
are  hardly  distinguishable.  The  collector,  therefore,  when  he  finds  a  mirror 
of  this  description  with  its  decorated  borders  in  perfect  order,  should  make 
careful  examination  of  them  in  case  most  of  the  design  has  been  restored. 
The  value  of  the  mirror  with  a  walnut  frame  depends  greatly  on  the  frame 
being  in  an  untouched  condition  with  a  good  patina,  as  many  of  them  un- 
fortunately have  been  French  polished. 

As  already  mentioned,  gesso  mirrors  of  the  more  ordinary  type  exist  in 
considerable  numbers  to-day.  The  mirror  of  the  architectural  type  is  not  so 
frequently  found,  and  this  can  also  be  said  of  the  mirrors  in  the  French, 
Chinese,  or  Gothic  tastes  of  the  middle  of  the  century.  All  these  gilt  and 
gesso  mirrors  are  found  with  their  frames  in  a  more  or  less  restored  state  ; 
the  mirror  of  architectural  design  often  has  the  pediment  missing  or  the 
small  apron  piece  at  the  bottom.  The  back  of  the  mirror  should  be 
examined  for  any  variation  of  appearance  of  the  deal  framework,  for  in  a 
genuine  mirror  the  back  will  be  dark  in  colour  through  the  accumulation  of 
dirt  and  dust  on  the  surface.  If  this  framework  is  new-looking,  wholly  or 
in  parts,  suspicion  should  be  aroused,  especially  if  a  white  mould  or  bloom 
'  is  found  on  the  surface  ;  the  reason  for  this  has  already  been  given.1 

Mirrors  are  often  found  to-day  with  portions  of  the  gilt  frame  a  dark 
colour  in  comparison  with  the  remaining  parts  ;  this  is  due  to  the  mirror 
having  been  restored  and  the  new  parts  only  gilt.  When  the  restored  work 
was  newly  gilded  it  had  the  same  appearance  as  the  old,  but,  as  has  already 
been  explained,  modern  faked  gilding  changes  in  colour  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years.  Motifs  of  design  such  as  masks,  birds,  animals,  or  mandarin 
figures  add  considerably  to  the  present-day  value  of  a  mirror,  this  kind  of 
ornament  being  found  only  in  the  more  important  examples  of  high  quality. 

The  mirrors  of  Adam  design  of  the  late  eighteenth  century,  with  the 

1  See  p.  15. 

70 


MIRRORS 


cresting  of  composition  affixed  to  wires,  must  have  been  made  in  considerable 
numbers  in  oval  and  oblong  shape.  To-day,  however,  it  is  the  mirror  and 
the  frame  that  have  generally  survived  ;  the  cresting,  owing  to  its  delicate 
construction,  has,  in  most  cases,  been  destroyed.  Many  of  these  mirror 
frames,  therefore,  have  had  their  crestings  restored  ;  and  by  far  the  greater 
number  existing  to-day  are  in  this  condition. 

A  number  of  mirrors  dating  from  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century 
had  frames  made  of  paper  pulp  ;  they  are  generally  oval  in  shape,  of  the  early 
Adam  style,  decorated  with  rococo  scrolls  and  foliage.  These  mirrors  are 
naturally  of  less  value  than  the  carved  wood  examples,  as  they  were  made 
by  mechanical  process  and  not  by  hand  ;  if  they  are  examined  from  the  back, 
the  paper  pulp  can  easily  be  detected. 

Mirrors  of  the  late  Adam  period,  with  their  decoration  in  composition, 
are  of  inferior  value  to  those  of  carved  wood.  To  detect  composition  from 
wood  it  should  be  tested  with  a  sharp-pointed  penknife  ;  wood  will  be  found 
soft,  but  the  composition  will  be  hard  and  resisting. 

Mirrors  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  often  made,  originally,  in  pairs, 
the  reason  being  that  one  of  the  favourite  positions  for  them  was  between 
the  windows  of  a  room  ;  and  as  many  of  the  Georgian  rooms  had  three 
windows  this  would  necessitate  two  mirrors.  To-day,  pairs  of  genuine 
mirrors  are  not  often  met  with,  especially  of  the  Queen  Anne  and  early 
Georgian  periods.  In  purchasing  a  pair  of  mirrors,  careful  comparison 
should  be  made  between  the  two  for  any  variation  in  the  carving  or  gilding, 
as,  owing  to  mirrors  in  pairs  having  more  than  double  the  value  of  one, 
many  pairs  are  found,  to-day,  consisting  of  one  old  mirror  and  a  modern 
reproduction. 

Overmantel  mirrors  are  not  so  highly  valued  to-day  as  the  wall  mirrors  ; 
this,  however,  does  not  refer  to  the  early  Queen  Anne  type  with  walnut 
frame.  A  genuine  specimen  of  the  walnut  overmantel  mirror  with  its  old 
picture  is  very  rarely  found.  This  scarcity  of  the  original  article  has 
resulted  in  the  manufacture  of  many  spurious  ones,  the  frames  being 
veneered,  sometimes,  with  old  veneer.  The  imitator  has  no  difficulty  in 
finding  a  suitable  picture  for  the  upper  part,  his  choice  being  sometimes  a 
still-life  subject,  but  generally  a  landscape  or  seascape. 

All  eighteenth  century  glasses  had  bevelled  edges,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  very  rococo-framed  mirror  of  the  middle  of  the  century, 
where  a  shaped  bevel  following  the  intricate  lines  of  the  frame  would  not 
have  been  in  good  taste.    This  bevelling  is  specially  noticeable  in  the 

71 


• 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 

mirrors  of  the  William  and  Mary  and  early  Queen  Anne  periods.  Various 
kinds  of  bevelling  are  found  on  these  glasses,  especially  with  the  tall  type 
formed  with  two  plates  and  frames  of  glass  borders.  The  edges  where  the 
two  plates  join  are  sometimes  serrated  and  cut,  in  addition  to  both  edges  of 
the  plates  being  bevelled.  The  bevelling  on  an  old  mirror  is  at  so  shallow 
an  angle  that  it  can  only  just  be  felt  when  the  finger-tips  are  passed  over  it. 
The  reason  for  this  shallow  bevelling  was  not  only  that  it  increased  the 
decorative  effect  of  the  mirror,  but  also  owing  to  the  extreme  thinness  of  the 
glass  plates,  which  seldom  exceeded  a  thickness  of  ^  of  an  inch.  The  bevel 
of  a  modern  glass  which  is  £  to  f  of  an  inch  in  thickness  is  much  deeper, 
and  shows  prismatic  colours.  The  old  bevelling,  which  appears  concave, 
was  done  by  hand  with  pumice-stone  ;  but  the  modern  bevelling  is  pro- 
duced by  sandstone  with  a  machine,  and  has  an  irregular  surface. 

The  thickness  of  the  glass  of  a  mirror  can  be  seen  and  tested  if  a  coin 
is  placed  touching  the  surface  of  the  glass,  the  distance  between  the  reflection 
and  the  coin  being  the  thickness  of  the  glass.  Nineteenth  century  glass  is 
thicker  than  the  eighteenth  century  variety. 

If  the  back  of  an  eighteenth  century  mirror  plate  is  examined  it  will  be 
found  to  be  silvered  ;  a  modern  mirror  plate  has  the  back  coated  with  a 
composition  of  a  brick-red  colour.  This  variation  is  due  to  the  old  mirrors 
being  silvered  by  the  mercurial  process  and  the  new  mirrors  by  a  patent 
process. 

The  possession  of  the  original  glass  adds  distinctly  to  the  attributes  of 
an  old  mirror  ;  even  if  it  gives  a  very  dark  reflection  and  the  glass  is  pitted 
with  rust,  it  has  far  more  decorative  value  than  if  it  was  replaced  with  a 
modern  perfect  glass.  Therefore,  as  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  frame  of  the 
mirror  in  its  untouched  state,  the  same  thing  can  also  be  said  of  the  mirror 
plate.  A  new  mirror  plate  will  clash  badly  with  an  original  frame.  Many 
mirrors  having  lost  their  original  glass  plates  have  had  them  replaced  by 
new  ones  ;  when  a  mirror  is  met  with  to-day  without  a  bevel  this  is  probably 
what  has  happened  (i.e.  excepting  the  mirrors  with  the  rococo  design 
frames).  In  mirrors  which  are  formed  of  two  plates  sometimes  one  of  the 
plates  will  be  new,  in  which  case  the  difference  in  the  tone  of  the  reflection 
will  be  distinctly  noticeable  ;  the  old  glass  gives  a  blackish  reflection,  whereas 
that  of  the  new  glass  is  whiter. 

The  experienced  imitator,  knowing  the  decorative  value  of  the  old 
glass  with  its  shallow  bevelling  and  dimmed  reflection,  makes  his  new  mirror 
plate  so  closely  resembling  the  old,  both  in  the  bevelling  and  the  dark 

72 


A  Stand  decorated  in  Gesso,  with  original  gilding. 
Circa  I  7 1 0. 

Fig.  56.  .  Col.  M. 


Fig-  57- 


A  Sidetable,  carved  wood  and  gilt,  with  marble  top. 
Circa  1725. 


Col.  D. 


MIRRORS 


reflection  of  the  glass,1  that  these  spurious  mirror  plates  have  to  be  scrutinised 
very  closely  before  they  can  be  detected.  Generally,  however,  he  overdoes 
the  artificial  antique  appearance  by  disfiguring  the  silvering  with  too  many 
defects.  Old  mirrors  are  never  desirable  when  the  glass  is  too  eaten  away 
with  rust  and  the  old  mercury  has  perished  or  become  spotted  through 
damp.  It  is  the  dim  reflection  that  is  so  attractive  to-day  in  an  old  mirror, 
as  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  its  frame,  both  having  grown  old  together. 

1  In  the  genuine  mirror  plate  the  dark  reflection  is  mainly  due  to  the  composition  of  the  glass  itself,  but 
in  the  imitation  the  effect  has  to  be  produced  by  means  of  the  silvering  applied  to  the  back,  as  modern  glass 
is  clear  and  white. 


73 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FURNITURE  OF  THE  EARLY  MAHOGANY  PERIOD 

1720-1745 

DESIGN  AND  DECORATION 

FURNITURE  began  to  be  made  in  mahogany  about  the  year  1720. 
Unlike  walnut,  which  had  a  natural  decorative  effect  with  the  fine 
figure  and  natural  beauty  of  its  grain,  this  new  wood  had  no  fine 
figure  to  recommend  it,  but  was  eminently  suitable  for  carving.  Con- 
sequently it  may  be  said  that  the  introduction  of  mahogany  for  furniture 
making  coincided  with,  if  it  did  not  actually  inspire,  a  new  fashion  in 
ornament  ;  for  it  is  at  this  period  that  the  eagle  and  lion  heads  and  the 
lion  masks,  which  were  the  salient  features  of  the  new  furniture,  first  made 
their  appearance.  The  actual  form  of  the  various  articles  of  early  mahogany 
furniture  adhered  closely  to  that  of  the  walnut,  with  the  addition,  however,  of 
these  carved  motifs  ;  but  as  mahogany  borrowed  its  design  from  walnut,  so 
in  return  walnut  was  lent  decoration  by  mahogany  ;  and,  accordingly,  pieces 
of  walnut  furniture,  made  after  the  initial  entry  of  mahogany  into  the 
furniture  world,  are  found  decorated  with  the  same  carved  features  as  are 
found  in  mahogany.  This  mutual  interchange  of  design  and  ornament  is 
illustrated  in  Figs.  61  and  46,  the  first  showing  a  mahogany  two-chair-back 
settee  with  the  hoop  back  of  the  Walnut  period,  but  the  lion  heads  of  the 
new  style  decorating  the  ends  of  the  arms  ;  the  second,  a  three-chair-back 
walnut  settee,  retaining  the  form  of  the  walnut  furniture,  but  decorated  with 
the  new  motifs  of  the  lion  masks  and  paw  feet. 

Comparing  the  best  quality  furniture  of  this  period  in  these  two  woods, 
the  walnut  articles  are  richer  in  effect  than  those  in  mahogany  ;  for  while 
both  have  a  common  feature  in  the  ornate  motifs  of  the  new  style,  the 
plain  surfaces  of  the  mahogany,  lacking  the  fine  figure  of  the  walnut,  appear 
plainer  and  heavier,  only  relieved  by  the  small  amount  of  carved  ornament 
with  which  they  are  adorned. 

74 


EARLY  MAHOGANY  FURNITURE 


The  repeal  in  1733  of  the  duty  on  imported  timber,  which  cheapened 
the  cost  of  mahogany,  undoubtedly  accentuated  the  making  of  furniture  in 
this  wood.  But  for  some  years  after  this  date  mahogany  furniture,  ornate 
in  design  and  of  high  quality  and  workmanship,  must  have  been  expensive 
and  only  within  the  means  of  the  fashionable  and  wealthy  classes  for  whom 
it  was  principally  made.  The  more  ordinary  type  of  walnut  furniture,  as 
already  mentioned,  was  still  made  up  to  1735,  and  although  plain  mahogany 
furniture  was  being  made  on  the  lines  of  the  walnut,  mahogany  did  not  hold 
the  market  for  the  cheaper  furniture  until  walnut  went  out  of  use.  This  is 
undoubtedly  proved  by  the  scarcity  in  mahogany  of  this  period  of  such  articles 
as  the  plain  bureau  bookcase,  bureau,  chest-with-drawers,  and  long  case  clock, 
all  of  which  would  be  used  by  the  middle  classes.  A  considerable  number 
of  these  articles  in  walnut  have  survived,  dating  up  to  1735  or  later.  About 
1735  the  lion  masks  and  heads  on  the  chairs,  stools,  settees,  and  tables 
gradually  disappeared,  and  the  chairs  and  settees  of  this  time  lost  the  hoop- 
shaped  back,  so  typical  of  the  walnut  furniture,  and  became  lighter  in  design, 
with  pierced  and  carved  splats  in  the  backs  (Figs.  63,  81,  and  82). 

Just  before  1730,  the  design  of  mahogany  furniture,  like  that  of  the 
gilt,  was  affected  by  the  demand  of  the  contemporary  architects  for  furniture 
to  suit  the  rooms  of  the  many  new  town  and  country  mansions  being  erected 
by  them  in  the  classical  style.  This  influence  specially  affected  the  design 
of  wall  furniture,  such  as  cabinets,  bookcases,  mirrors,  and  side  tables.1  In 
some  cases  corner  cabinets  and  bookcases  were  treated  as  part  of  the  panelling 
of  the  room,  being  made  in  deal,  similar  to  the  panelling,  and  painted  with 
it.  Bookcases  of  this  period  had  doors  glazed  with  panes  set  in  heavy 
bars  similar  to  the  contemporary  windows.  The  panels  of  the  doors  in 
bureau  bookcases  and  cabinets  were  glazed  with  mirror  plates  in  con- 
tinuation of  the  William  and  Mary  tradition.  Tops  of  these  pieces  were 
surmounted  by  classical  cornices  and  pediments  supported  by  fluted  pilasters 
with  carved  Corinthian  caps.  The  bottom  part  of  the  bookcases  and 
cabinets  were  often  designed  with  a  plinth  or  podium,  on  which  the 
pilasters  of  the  upper  part  rested,  following  the  treatment  of  a  classic  order 
of  architecture,  the  skirting  or  plinth  being  similar  in  section  to  that  of  the 
panelling. 

1  See  also  its  effect  on  gilt  furniture,  p.  62.  The  foremost  of  these  architects  was  William  Kent,  who 
was  particularly  identified  with  the  design  of  furniture,  though  he  attempted  all  branches  of  design,  including 
ladies'  dresses  and  book  illustrations. 

75 


* 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

The  mahogany  used  at  this  period  came  from  Central  America  and 
was  known  as  "  Spanish  Mahogany  "  ;  its  chief  characteristics  are  its  close 
grain,  weight,  and  rich  dark  brown  colour.  Pieces  found  with  a  good  patina 
have  a  lustrous  metallic  appearance,  the  result  of  having  been  rubbed, 
when  first  made,  with  linseed  oil,  this  treatment  having  the  effect  of  closing 
up  the  grain  of  the  mahogany  and  hardening  its  surface.  Spanish  mahogany 
is  much  harder  and  heavier  than  other  kinds,  such  as  the  Cuban  and 
Honduras,  which  were  the  varieties  most  generally  employed  for  furniture 
making  in  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

As  already  mentioned  in  Chapter  I,  the  feature  that  is  so  desirable 
in  a  piece  of  furniture  is  the  dark  setting  to  the  carving.  This  is  character- 
istic of  all  pieces  in  mahogany  of  the  early  period  which  have  a  good  colour 
and  patina. 

WORKMANSHIP 

Pieces  of  this  period,  such  as  cabinets,  bookcases,  etc.,  were  made  in  the 
solid  mahogany,  and  veneering  was  confined  to  the  splats  of  the  hoop-back 
chairs  and  the  friezes  of  tables. 

The  carving  and  cabinetwork  were  of  the  highest  quality,  in  fact  it 
may  be  said  that  at  no  period  in  the  making  of  English  furniture  were  they 
surpassed.  Deal  was  seldom  used  for  drawers  or  carcase  work,  oak  being 
invariably  employed,  and  this  fact  is  an  additional  proof  that  the  early 
mahogany  furniture  was  very  expensive  and  made  almost  exclusively  for 
the  wealthy  classes. 

SPURIOUS  MAHOGANY  FURNITURE 

The  imitator  does  not,  as  a  general  rule,  make  spurious  mahogany 
pieces  of  entirely  new  construction,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  copying  the 
right  colour  and  patina  of  old  mahogany  on  freshly  cut  wood.  As  stated  in 
Chapter  II,  mahogany  veneer  exposed  to  the  action  of  sal  ammoniac 1  in 

1  But  treated  in  this  way  the  veneer,  when  French  polished,  has  a  bluish  sheen  which  is  never  found  on 
the  natural  brown  colour  of  old  mahogany. 

76 


A  deal  Sidetable,  with  marble  top,  originally  gilt  but  now  painted. 

Circa  1735. 

Fig.  58.  Col. 


A  mahogany  Sidetable  of  exceptional  design  and  quality  of  carving. 

Circa  '73°' 

Fig.  59.  Col.  K. 


SPURIOUS  MAHOGANY  FURNITURE 


a  fume  cupboard  will  obtain  the  colour  of  old  mahogany,  but  this  process 
cannot  be  applied  to  solid  pieces,  as  the  fumes  do  not  penetrate  sufficiently 
deep  to  be  of  any  use.  To  get  over  this  difficulty  the  imitator  sometimes 
uses  American  walnut,  which  is  similar  in  grain,  and  when  treated  with 
acids  takes  a  colour  very  like  that  of  old  mahogany  ;  being  walnut  it  is 
much  easier  to  patinate  its  soft  surface  than  the  harder  mahogany.  It  is 
usually  employed  for  spurious  chairs  and  legs  of  tables,  but  is  not  suitable  for 
large  surfaces.  Sometimes,  to  obviate  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  the  right 
patina,  the  imitator  will  use  old  pieces  with  a  patinated  surface,  such  as  the 
tops  of  Victorian  tables,  invariably  of  Spanish  mahogany,  or  inferior  quality 
wood  obtained  from  old  shop  counters,  but  these  supplies  of  old  material 
are  very  limited,  and  he  has  still  to  contend  with  the  freshly  cut  edges. 
Whether  the  spurious  piece  is  made  in  veneer  or  solid  mahogany,  the  wood 
when  freshly  cut  will  have  an  open  grain,  although  every  endeavour  will 
be  made  to  fill  this  up.  Indeed,  the  imitator  will,  in  many  cases,  coat 
the  surface  so  liberally  with  French  polish  that  the  open  grain  will 
be  hidden  ;  but  then  the  surface,  although  the  high  gloss  of  the  polish 
is  removed  by  rubbing  down,  will  be  perfectly  smooth  and  greasy  to  the 
touch,  and  with  the  cold  feeling  which  has  already  been  described  as  a 
characteristic  of  false  patina.  The  experienced  imitator,  however,  does  not 
usually  resort  to  this  thick  coating  of  French  polish,  but  risks  exposure  of  the 
open  grain  in  order  to  obtain  a  nearer  imitation  of  the  surface  condition  of 
the  genuine  piece. 

Most  of  the  work  of  the  imitator,  therefore,  takes  the  form  of 
adaptations,  such  as  "  carving  up "  the  mouldings  of  a  plain  piece,  or 
decorating  its  plain  surfaces  with  applied  carving,  similar  to  that  found 
on  genuine  pieces,  like  the  cabinet  in  Fig.  66.  He  will  also  add 
broken  pediment  tops  to  plain  bureau  bookcases,  thus  increasing  their 
importance  and  adding  to  their  present-day  value.  The  open  grain 
on  the  newly  cut  mouldings  will,  however,  be  a  sure  indication  of 
spurious  work.  This  open  grain  is  never  found  on  genuine  pieces, 
having  been  closed  up  by  the  application  of  linseed  oil.  The  collector 
should  make  himself  familiar  with  the  appearance  of  the  open  grain  of 
freshly  cut  mahogany  and  the  closed  grain  of  the  old  mahogany^  as  this 
knowledge  will  prove  his  surest  safeguard  against  the  wiles  of  the 
imitator. 


77 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Chairs,  Stools,  and  Settees. — Mahogany  chairs,  like  those  in  walnut, 
were  made  originally  in  sets  ;  but  a  set  in  mahogany  is  as  rare  as  a  set  in 
walnut.  Mahogany  chairs,  however,  either  in  sets  or  singly,  are  by  no 
means  so  highly  prized  as  walnut  chairs  of  the  same  design.  The  dark 
tone  and  absence  of  fine  figure  in  the  mahogany,  compared  with  the  rich 
light  brown  colour  and  marking  of  the  walnut,  easily  account  for  this. 

As  already  explained,  the  type  of  chair,  stool,  and  settee  decorated  with 
the  lion  mask  has  been  extensively  copied  in  walnut,  and  a  number  of  similar 
imitations  exist  in  mahogany.1 

With  regard  to  the  settees,  of  which  many  imitations  are  made,  a  feature 
in  the  design  of  the  genuine  settee  should  be  noticed.  In  a  two-chair-back 
settee  there  will  always  be  one  front  centre  leg  ;  in  a  three-chair-back  settee 
there  will  be  two  centre  legs,  these  two  legs  being  in  line  with  the  uprights 
of  the  chair  backs  ;  in  the  four-chair-back  settee  there  will  be  three  legs. 
In  the  stuffed-back  settee  the  number  of  front  legs  will  be  in  proportion 
to  its  length.  If  the  illustrations  of  settees  are  examined  this  feature 
will  be  clearly  seen.  This  characteristic  has  been  specially  pointed  out, 
because  the  imitator  will  often  make  a  three-chair-back  settee  with  only 
one  leg  in  the  middle  or  a  two-chair-back  settee  without  a  centre  leg. 
In  the  upholstered-back  settees  he  will  also  err  in  the  proportions  of  the 
front  legs  to  the  length,  by  placing  one  leg  in  the  middle  of  a  piece  which, 
if  a  genuine  example,  would  have  had  two  legs.  Sometimes  a  genuine 
chair-back  settee  will  be  found  with  its  front  leg  missing  ;  examination  of 
the  underframing  will,  however,  show  the  marks  where  it  had  originally 
been  fixed. 

A  point  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with  stools  is  that  many 
examples  with  the  cabriole  legs  and  claw  and  ball  feet  are  often  found  to-day 
with  their  legs  made  up  out  of  chair  legs.  This  type  has  generally  an 
upholstered  seat  (Fig.  80),  and  not  a  drop-in  seat  as  shown  in  Fig.  79. 
This  spurious  work  can  be  detected,  because,  owing  to  the  front  of  a  chair 
being  wider  than  the  back,  the  front  leg  is  made  at  an  acute  angle, 
whereas  the  leg  of  a  stool  is  at  a  right  angle.  Therefore,  in  applying 
chair  legs  to  a  stool,  the  two  wings  at  each  side  of  the  knee  of  the 
cabriole  leg,  which  are  always  made  in  separate  pieces  from  the  leg, 
cannot  both  be  in  line  with  the  outer  edge  of  the  framework  of  the 
seat.    One  of  the  wings  will  run  under  the  framing  ;  sometimes  the  wings 

1  The  remarks  made  concerning  the  making  of  these  spurious  walnut  chairs  refer  also  to  those  found  in 
mahogany.    See  p.  44. 

78 


Fig.  60. 


A  mahogany  Settee,  arms  terminating  in  small  lion  heads. 
Circa  I  730. 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Settee.     (The  design  shows  that  it  is  one  of  the  early  pieces  made  in  mahogany.) 

Circa  1725. 

F'g-  61  ■  Col.  D. 


A  mahogany  Chair  of  the  lion  mask  period. 
Circa  1730. 

Fig.  62.  Col.  C. 


Fig.  63. 


A  mahogany  Chair. 
Circa  1745. 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Armchair,  in  the  French  taste,  with 
the  legs  terminating  in  scroll  toes. 
Circa  1755. 

Fig.  64.  Col.  C. 


A  walnut  Armchair,  upholstered  in  gros  and 
petit  point  needlework. 
Circa  1 7  40. 

Fig.  65.  Col.  C. 


BUREAUX  AND  BUREAU  BOOKCASES 


of  a  leg  will  be  fixed  so  that  they  are  in  line  with  the  edge  of  the  framework, 
but  in  this  case  the  space  between  the  wings  and  the  leg  will  be  filled  in 
with  wedges,  which  can  be  seen  on  examining  the  inside  of  the  leg.  This 
type  of  stool  is  not  being  made  to-day,  as  single  chairs  with  cabriole  legs  are 
rare  ;  but  there  are  a  large  number  of  these  reconstructed  stools  about,  and 
the  collector  should  realise  that  their  market  value  is  not  so  great  as  that  of 
the  genuine  article. 

Another  characteristic  of  a  genuine  stool  is  that  the  beech  underframing 
will  have  its  surface  in  most  cases  patinated,  because  a  stool  is  generally 
picked  up  by  the  underframing,  and  constant  handling  in  this  manner  over  a 
long  period  will  have  affected  it  in  this  way.  This  characteristic  will  be 
better  appreciated  by  comparing  the  underframing  of  a  stool  with  that  of 
a  chair  ;  the  latter  being  handled  by  the  back  when  moved,  its  underframing 
will  not  have  this  patinated  look.  This  slight  patinating  of  the  beech  under- 
framing  of  stools  will  be  useful  to  the  collector  in  avoiding  the  many 
spurious  specimens  of  new  construction.  Stools  with  the  drop-in  seat  are,  if 
anything,  more  desirable  than  those  with  their  upholstering  over  the  seat 
rail  ;  most  of  the  spurious  stools  are  made  in  the  latter  form. 

Bureaux  and  Bureau  Bookcases. — As  already  mentioned,  the  early 
mahogany  bureau  is  to-day  seldom  found.  Most  of  those  extant  date  from 
the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  bureau  bookcase  is  found  in  mahogany  on  the  lines  of  the  walnut 
bureau  bookcase  and  also  in  the  architectural  style  already  described.  The 
latter  is  by  far  the  rarest  form,  and  is  generally  of  fine  quality  workmanship, 
with  a  single  door  in  the  upper  part,  surmounted  by  a  broken  pediment 
and  decorated  with  carved  mouldings  and  applied  carved  ornamentation. 
Both  types  of  these  bureau  bookcases  are  either  found  with  mirrors  in 
the  doors  of  the  upper  part  or  with  wooden  panels.1  The  type  with  the 
glazed  lattice  doors  was  not  made  until  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  As  already  stated,  the  plain  mahogany  bureau  bookcase  is  often 
found  with  its  mouldings  "  carved  up  "  and  also  decorated  with  applied  carved 
ornament.  Sometimes  a  specimen  is  found  with  the  flap  decorated  with 
applied  carved  mouldings  ;  these  mouldings  are  always  spurious,  as  the  flap 
of  a  genuine  bureau  was  never  decorated  in  this  manner. 

1  A  mahogany  bureau  bookcase  of  this  period  with  solid  wood  panels  in  the  doors  of  the  upper  part  is 
shown  in  P  ig.  83  ;  its  date  is  about  1740. 


79 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Bookcases  and  Cabinets. — Bookcases  of  the  early  Mahogany  period  are 
generally  of  the  finest  quality  as  regards  workmanship  and  carving.  This 
refers,  however,  to  those  of  architectural  design,  as  a  plainer  type  of  mahogany 
bookcase,  similar  to  the  late  walnut  examples,  is  also  met  with. 

Early  mahogany  china  cabinets,  like  those  in  walnut,  are  of  great  rarity. 
A  few  mahogany  cabinets  are  extant,  similar  in  design  to  Fig.  66.  These 
invariably  had  mirrors  fitted  to  the  panels  in  the  upper  part  ;  they  were, 
therefore,  not  display  cabinets,  but  were  intended  more  as  decorative  pieces 
of  furniture  for  the  large  halls  and  rooms  designed  by  William  Kent  and 
other  architects.  Many  of  the  mirrors  in  this  type  of  cabinet  and  bureau 
bookcase  have  to-day  been  replaced  by  plain  glass  to  convert  them  into  china 
cabinets,  thus  marring  their  appearance.  The  designers  of  the  eighteenth 
century  fully  realised  the  decorative  value  of  mirrors  let  into  the  panels  of 
a  piece  of  furniture.  Their  artistic  effect  in  those  days  must  have  been 
specially  attractive,  as  the  mirrors  would  contain,  like  a  rich  picture,  reflec- 
tions of  the  panelled  rooms  with  their  tapestries,  pictures,  and  lighted  candles. 

A  large  plain  sheet  of  glass  let  into  the  door  of  a  cabinet  interrupts  its 
design,  and  it  was  not  until  the  decadent  age  of  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  that  cabinets  and  bookcase  doors  were  glazed  in  this  manner. 

Doors  which  have  had  their  mirrors  exchanged  for  pieces  of  plain  glass 
can  be  detected  by  examining  the  back  of  the  framework  for  any  sign  of 
small  holes  which  may  have  been  filled  up.  The  original  mirrors  were 
protected  by  wooden  backboards  screwed  to  the  framework  ;  the  presence 
of  these  holes  caused  by  the  screws  denotes,  therefore,  that  the  door  contained 
originally  a  mirror  with  a  wooden  backboard. 

Pedestal  Writing  Tables. — At  this  date,  these  could  not  have  been 
nearly  so  popular  for  writing  purposes  as  the  walnut  bureaux,  many  of  which 
have  survived,  while  the  pedestal  table  is  known  to-day  by  only  a  few 
fine  specimens.1  These  are  all  of  high  quality  workmanship  and  elaborately 
carved,  the  decorations  in  some  cases  including  lion  masks,  mouldings,  and 
friezes  of  classical  design  according  to  the  school  of  William  Kent. 

The  pedestal  writing  table  of  this  period  is  so  rare  and  valuable  to-day 
that  the  imitator  has  made  many  elaborate  adaptations  of  the  plain  mahogany 
writing  table — a  piece  which  in  nearly  every  case  dates  from  the  last  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century — by  carving  its  plain  mouldings  and  adding  such 

1  The  popularity  of  the  bureau  as  compared  with  the  pedestal  writing  table  is  also  noticeable,  but  in  a  less 
marked  degree,  in  connection  with  the  furniture  of  the  later  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

80 


A  mahogany  Cabinet  of  architectural  design,  with  original  mirror  plates  in  doors. 

Circa  1735. 

Fig.  66.  Col.  S. 


A  mahogany  Sidetable,  with  marble  top  and  carved  apron  piece. 
Circa  1735. 

Fig.  67.  Col.  C. 


CARD  TABLES,  SIDE  TABLES,  AND  DINING  TABLES 


valuable  motifs  of  design  as  the  lion  mask  and  other  applied  carvings. 
When,  therefore,  the  collector  comes  across  pedestal  writing  tables  purporting 
to  be  of  this  period,  he  should  remember  the  extreme  rarity  of  the  genuine 
piece  and  make  a  particularly  careful  investigation. 

Card  Tables,  Side  Tables,  and  Dining  Tables. — The  card  tables  of 
the  early  Mahogany  period  are  found  with  cabriole  legs,  sometimes  decorated 
with  lion  masks  and  paw  feet,  but  generally  with  claw  and  ball  feet  and 
knees  with  acanthus  foliage.  The  lion  mask  table  is  very  rare  and  highly 
valued  to-day,  and,  as  with  the  chairs  of  a  similar  design,  walnut  examples 
are  more  prized  than  those  in  mahogany. 

A  mahogany  table  with  its  frieze  in  the  architectural  style  is  shown  in 
Fig.  93.  Tables  made  about  1735  had  their  corners  square  and  not  rounded 
like  the  earlier  examples. 

Another  feature  introduced  on  card  tables  in  the  latter  years  of  this  period 
was  the  carving  of  the  edges  to  the  top  with  the  rose  and  ribbon  design, 
seen  in  Fig.  93.  Card  tables  also  began  to  have  serpentine  fronts  as  in  the 
table  shown  in  Fig.  45,  which  must  be  a  very  early  example  of  this  pattern, 
as  the  design  of  the  legs  and  the  fact  that  the  table  is  of  walnut,  point  to  a 
date  of  about  1730.  The  remarks  made  about  card  tables  in  the  chapter  on 
Walnut  Furniture  refer  also  in  general  to  mahogany  card  tables  of  this  period. 

Sometimes  mahogany  card  tables  are  found  with  double  tops,  one 
for  card-playing  and  the  other  generally  inlaid  with  a  backgammon  board  ; 
these  are  seldom  found  on  a  table  of  high  quality  decorated  with  carving. 
The  majority  of  the  card  tables  of  this  period  extant  to-day  are  plain, 
with  plain  cabriole  legs  terminating  in  club  feet.  These  card  tables  are 
eagerly  bought  up  by  the  imitator  in  order  to  "  carve-up  "  the  legs  and 
edges  of  the  tops. 

One  peculiarity  of  genuine  card  tables  with  the  edge  of  their  tops 
decorated  with  carving,  is  that  the  ornament  on  the  front  edge  is  more  worn 
than  that  at  the  ends  of  the  sides.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  when 
the  card  table  was  closed  and  standing  against  a  wall  (its  normal  position) 
the  front  edge  would  receive  most  of  the  handling  and  rubbing.  This 
variation  in  wear  is  not  found  on  tables  with  their  edges  carved  by  the 
imitator,  who  by  sand-papering  and  brushing  counterfeits  the  worn  appear- 
ance equally  over  the  whole  of  the  carving. 

The  side  table  must  have  been  a  favourite  article  of  furniture  at  this 
period,  since  more  fine  examples  of  it  exist  than  of  any  other  kind  of  table. 
P  81 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


The  design  varies  considerably,  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two  pieces 
illustrated  in  Fig.  59  and  Fig.  67,  and  the  mahogany  console  table,  Fig.  68. 1 
Mahogany  console  tables  are  sometimes  found  with  a  design  of  dolphins,  the 
tails  of  which  support  the  frieze  of  the  marble  top. 

All  side  tables  of  this  period  have  marble  tops,  the  mahogany  top  not 
being  introduced  until  about  1770.  The  possession  of  a  fine  original  marble 
top  considerably  increases  the  present-day  value  of  a  side  table  ;  less 
important  pieces  would  be  mounted  with  white  Sicilian  marble,  but  for 
examples  of  high  quality  black  or  yellow  marble  would  be  used.  A  type 
of  marble  also  much  in  favour  at  this  period  for  the  tops  of  fine  tables  was 
that  known  as  Breche  violette,  which  has  black  and  purple  markings  on  a 
white  ground. 

Side  tables  can  have  been  very  seldom  made  in  walnut,  as  very  few 
examples  are  extant  ;  and  as  the  majority  of  the  mahogany  side  tables  that 
have  survived  are  finely  carved  and  of  high  quality,  the  side  table  of  this 
period  must  have  been  a  piece  of  furniture  made  only  for  the  wealthy  classes. 

The  oval-top  dining  table  with  cabriole  legs  similar  to  Fig.  71  was 
introduced  in  this  period.  Like  the  side  tables,  it  is  hardly  ever  met  with  in 
walnut,  and  it  varies  in  size  from  3  ft.  6  in.  to  5  ft.  6  in.  across  the  top. 
Unlike  the  side  table,  a  number  of  these  tables  were  made  with  plain  legs, 
as,  being  a  novelty  of  this  period,  they  were  most  probably  in  popular 
demand  by  all  classes.  Having  solid  wood  tops  these  tables  could  not  very 
well  be  made  in  walnut,  but  mahogany  examples  exist  in  larger  numbers 
to-day  than  any  other  articles  of  this  period.  Sometimes  the  legs  of  these 
tables,  in  very  early  specimens,  are  found  decorated  with  an  escallop  shell. 
A  few  rare  examples  exist  with  the  lion  mask  motif  carved  on  the  knees  of 
the  legs,  and  a  few  with  octagon-shaped  tops. 

Tripod  Furniture. — Other  innovations  in  this  period  are  the  table 
with  circular  top  and  the  firescreen  with  a  panel  of  needlework,  both 
supported  on  tripod  feet.  The  stem  and  tripod  feet  in  fine  examples  are 
decorated  with  carving,  the  feet  of  the  tripod  ending  generally  in  a  claw 
and  ball  foot  and  more  rarely  a  lion  paw  foot  ;  the  tops  of  the  tables 
were  circular  and  generally  decorated  with  a  pie-crust  edge  (Figs.  74,  75, 
and  77). 

Another  variety  of  the  tripod  table  measured  about  2  ft.  in  height  (Figs. 
69  and  70).     Mahogany  candlestands  on  tripod  feet  are  also  found  in  this 

1  This  type  of  table  was  more  commonly  made  in  gilt. 
82 


A  small  mahogany  Tripod  Coffer  Table. 
Circa  i  7  50. 

Fig.  6y.  Col.  C. 


A  rare  mahogany  Tripod  Coffee 
Table. 
Circa  1735. 
Fig.  70.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Table,  with  massive  cabriole  legs  ending  in  claw  and  ball  tcct. 

Circa  174O. 

Fig.  71.  Col.  M. 


TRIPOD  FURNITURE 


early  Mahogany  period,  and,  like  the  carved  wood  and  gilt  specimens,  are 
very  rare  and  highly  prized  to-day.  These  candle-stands  and  torcheres  were 
generally  made  in  pairs.  Another  piece  of  tripod  furniture  was  the  dumb 
waiter,  generally  with  three  circular  platforms,  but  specimens  are  very 
seldom  found  with  the  legs  and  stems  carved.  The  one  illustrated  is  of  very 
unusual  design  and  dates  from  this  period.  Generally  speaking,  dumb 
waiters  are  not  in  great  demand  to-day,  as  they  are  no  longer  commonly 
used. 

The  tripod  tables  of  the  early  and  middle  periods  of  mahogany,  when 
found  with  carved  legs  and  stems  and  carved  pie-crust  tops,  are  to-day  more 
sought  after  by  the  collector  than  perhaps  any  other  mahogany  tables,  and 
genuine  specimens  realise  high  prices.  The  scarcity  and  consequent  value 
of  the  tripod  table  with  carved  legs  and  decorated  top  is  an  incentive  to  the 
imitator  to  make  many  spurious  copies.  He  is  considerably  helped  in  this 
respect  by  the  very  large  number  of  plain  mahogany  tripod  tables  that  exist, 
which  he  is  able  to  "  carve-up  "  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  resemble 
the  decorated  specimens.  The  imitator  for  his  work  chooses  a  plain,  well- 
shaped,  massive  tripod  table,  which  will  give  him  sufficient  material  on 
which  to  carve  the  ornament.  The  feet  of  these  spurious  tripods  generally 
terminate  with  a  toe  decorated  with  foliage,  the  reason  being  that  there  is 
not  sufficient  material  in  the  foot  of  the  old  plain  tripod  to  permit  the 
imitator  to  convert  it  into  a  claw  and  ball  foot  ;  as,  however,  this  is  a  very 
necessary  adjunct  to  make  these  tables  saleable,  he  will  sometimes  glue 
pieces  of  wood  on  to  each  side  of  the  original  foot,  in  order  to  obtain 
sufficient  width  for  the  carving  of  the  claw  and  ball.  In  all  genuine  tables 
the  claw  and  ball  foot  is  carved  out  of  one  piece  ;  but  if  a  spurious  foot  of 
this  description  is  examined,  the  joints  where  these  extra  pieces  are  glued  on 
can  be  detected.  Where  there  is  a  sufficient  width  of  material  for  the  ball, 
but  not  enough  for  the  claw,  the  claws  will  be  added  in  separate  pieces.  In 
other  cases,  in  order  to  get  over  the  difficulty  of  lack  of  material  in  the  toes 
of  the  old  tripods,  the  imitator  will  make  a  narrow  four-clawed  foot,  instead 
of  the  three  usual  claws  grasping  the  ball.  This  narrow  foot  is  never 
found  on  an  original  tripod  and  is  a  design  invented  by  the  imitator  to 
overcome  his  difficulty. 

With  regard  to  the  tops  of  these  tables,  he  will  decorate  the  plain  top 
with  a  carved  pie-crust  edge,  which  he  will  cut  out  of  the  solid  wood. 
There  is  one  characteristic,  however,  of  the  genuine  circular  top,  and  that 
is,  that  it  will  not  be  a  true  circle,  the  wood  having  shrunk  across  the  grain  : 

83 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


it  will  therefore  measure  less  across  the  grain  than  with  it.  The  imitator,  in 
converting  this  old  top,  will  first  of  all  send  it  to  the  turner,  who  will  turn 
it  out  to  the  required  depth,  and  in  doing  this  he  will  also  alter  the  outside 
shape  of  the  edge,  and  thus  make  it  an  exact  circle. 

Many  firescreens  on  tripod  feet  will  be  found  with  the  pole  cut  off  and 
a  top  added,  thus  converting  them  into  tables.  This  practice  first  started 
in  the  nineteenth  century  when  firescreens  went  out  of  use,  and  it  is 
continued  to-day  because  these  tables  are  more  valuable  than  the  screens. 
It  is  generally  possible  to  detect  this  alteration,  as  the  section  of  the 
moulding  which  terminates  the  top  of  the  stem  of  a  table  is  different  to  that 
on  a  tripod  firescreen. 

The  imitator  does  not  copy  the  other  articles  of  tripod  furniture, 
because  of  the  scarcity  of  plain  examples  of  the  tripod  candle-stand  and  the 
small  tripod  table.  The  plain  dumb  waiter,  although  it  exists  in  large 
numbers,  is  not  sufficiently  saleable  to-day  to  pay  him  for  carving  it  up. 

Chests-with-Drawers  and  Tallboys. — Early  chests-with-drawers  and 
tallboys  of  this  period  are  rare,  most  of  the  examples  existing  to-day  dating 
from  after  1750- 1800.  A  few  chests-with-drawers  on  stands,  similar  to 
the  walnut  examples,  are  found  ;  but  these  are  very  unusual.  Generally 
speaking,  these  articles  of  furniture  in  early  mahogany  hardly  exist  to-day. 
It  would  appear,  as  already  stated,  that  the  bedroom  furniture  of  the  middle 
classes  up  to  1735-40  was  in  walnut. 


84 


■  p 


A  mahogany  3-tier  Dumb  Waiter  on  tripod  stand  ;   the  carving  of 
the  feathers  and  scaling  is  of  high  quality. 
Circa  1735. 

Fig.  72.  Col.  J. 


A  walnut  Tripod  Pole  Screen,  with  shaped  banner  or  petit 
point  needlework. 
Circa  1730. 


F'g-  73- 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Tripod  Pole  Screen,  with  panel  of  petit  point 
needlework.  (This  is  very  exceptional,  as  the  legs  terminate 
in  bears  instead  of  the  usual  claw  and  ball.) 

Circa  1740. 


Fig-  74- 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Tripod  Table,  with  pie-crust  top. 
Circa  1750. 

Fig.  75.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Tripod  Table,  with  fret  gallery' top. 
Circa  1760. 

Fig.  76.  Col.  B. 


A  mahogany  Tripod  Table,  with  carved  gallery  top.  A  mahogany  Tripod  Table,  with  carved  pie-crust  top. 

Circa  1745.  Circa  1755. 

Fig.  77.  Col.  C.  Fig.  78.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Stool,  one  of  a  pair. 
Circa  1 7  50. 


Fig.  79. 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  circular  Stool,  one 
of  a  pair. 
Circa  1735. 
Fig.  80.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Settee       (An  unusual  feature  of  this  Settee  is  the  single  upright  in  the 

centre  of  the  back.) 
Circa  1745. 

Fig.  81.  Col.  C. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FURNITURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  MAHOGANY  PERIOD 

1745-1770 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

THIS  period,  which  may  be  said  to  have  begun  shortly  before  1745 
and  to  have  lasted  until  nearly  1770,  originated  in  the  taste  for  all 
things  French.  This  soon  affected  the  design  of  furniture,  and  in  so 
doing  extinguished  the  lingering  traces  of  the  quaintly  dignified  Queen 
Anne  tradition,  and  also  undermined  and  destroyed  the  severe  and  patrician 
classical  style.  Following  closely  upon  this  invasion  of  French  ideas  came 
the  craze  for  Chinoiserie  and  the  cult  of  the  Gothic. 

The  design  of  furniture  at  this  period  was  the  expression  of  popular 
taste  as  interpreted  by  the  cabinetmakers,  and  was  not  subject  to  the  re- 
straining hand  of  the  architect-designers,  as  hitherto.  All  the  cabinet- 
makers of  this  period,  among  whom  were  Thomas  Chippendale,  Edwards 
and  Darley,  Thomas  Johnson,  Lock  and  Copeland,  Ince  and  Mayhew,  and 
Robert  Manwaring,  turned  their  time  and  attention  to  following  the  foibles 
of  the  day,  and  producing  furniture  to  please  the  capricious  fancies  of  the 
public.  It  was  the  correct  and  customary  thing  at  this  period  for  a  cabinet- 
maker of  any  mark  to  issue  trade  catalogues,  and  it  is  from  copies  that  survive 
that  these  cabinetmakers  and  their  designs  are  known  to-day.  From  these 
designs  it  can  be  seen  how  they  vied  with  each  other  in  assimilating  the 
French,  Chinese,  and  Gothic  notions,  and  in  endeavouring  to  adapt  and  graft 
them  on  to  their  furniture. 

The  most  prominent,  and  certainly  the  most  celebrated  to-day,  of  these 
men  was  Thomas  Chippendale.  His  fame,  however,  cannot  be  said  to  rest 
on  his  powers  as  a  creative  artist  ;  but  more  on  his  commercial  ability  in 
catering  for  the  variable  taste  of  a  large  and  fashionable  clientele,  by  the 
production  of  furniture  of  a  very  high  standard  of  workmanship.  It  has  been 
stated  that  Chippendale  was  himself  a  carver  of  the  highest  quality,  and  that 

85 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


some  pieces  were  undoubtedly  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  Most  probably, 
about  1740,  as  a  young  man  of  twenty-three,  he  did  work  at  the  bench  ;  but 
when  his  business  acumen  brought  him  to  the  top  of  his  trade,  it  is  more 
likely  that  his  time  was  occupied  in  directing  his  business  ;  and,  also,  that 
the  majority  of  his  designs  were  drawn  and  executed  by  artists  in  his  employ- 
ment. Those  pieces  which  can  be  traced  definitely  to  his  workshop,  through 
the  original  invoices  relating  to  them  being  still  in  existence,  show  how 
exceptionally  high  was  the  quality  of  the  cabinetwork  and  its  decoration, 
whether  by  carving,  inlaying,  metal-mounting,  or  painting.  Owing  to  the 
fact,  however,  that  his  designs,  together  with  those  of  many  other  cabinet- 
makers, were  published  and  consequently  accessible  to  all,  a  great  deal  of 
furniture  was  made  on  lines  similar  to  his  own,  so  that  it  is  impossible,  in  the 
absence  of  the  invoices  relating  to  them,  to  establish  any  personal  connection 
between  Chippendale  and  all  the  pieces  which  to-day  pass  under  his  name. 
It  is  a  pure  fallacy,  though  one  often  put  forward,  that  Chippendale  was  a 
designer  of  all  the  furniture  of  this  middle  Mahogany  period,  and  the  maker 
of  the  greater  part  of  it  ;  in  reality,  his  name  has  become  generic  for  all 
furniture  made  at  this  date,  and  it  is  in  this  sense  that  the  term  "  Chippendale  " 
should  be  understood.  When  this  is  realised,  a  popular  misapprehension  will 
cease  to  exist. 

About  1765  to  1770,  when  the  chaos  of  style  of  this  period  had  reached 
a  climax  of  extravagance,  there  came  a  reaction  in  favour  of  the  classical  style  ; 
and  the  design  of  English  furniture  once  again  came  under  the  control  of  an 
architect-designer,  Robert  Adam. 

COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

Pieces  of  mahogany  of  this  period  can  be  distinguished  from  those  of 
the  earlier  period,  as  they  were  not  originally  treated  with  oil,  but  were 
slightly  stained  to  equalise  the  colour,  and  then  waxed  ;  consequently  they 
have  not  the  very  dark  brown  tone  of  the  earlier  pieces.1 

Many  pieces  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  French  polisher,  and  in 
such  cases  the  wood,  instead  of  being  a  rich  brown,  has  generally  a  red  or 
yellow  tone.  Old,  untouched  mahogany  never  has  this  reddish  tone,  which 
is  only  found  on  modern  mahogany  and  old  pieces  from  which  the  original 
surface  has  been  removed.    Mahogany  will  become  bleached  if  exposed  to 

1  E.g.  serpentine  chest- with-drawers  (Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  W  133,  1919).  There  are,  however 
many  pieces  of  a  dark  colour  made  of  the  earlier  Spanish  or  San  Domingo  mahogany  during  this  period. 

86 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  MAHOGANY  PERIOD 


the  sun  ;  but  the  bleached  effect,  which  in  extreme  cases  has  a  light  grey 
tone,  is  not  the  added  attraction  that  it  is  in  the  case  of  walnut. 

DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 

Except  for  the  introduction  of  several  pieces  directly  copied  from 
French  examples,  the  general  lines  of  the  furniture  were  not  materially  altered 
during  this  period,  and  it  is  only  in  the  ornamentation  that  the  change  is 
revealed.  The  cabriole  leg  with  the  claw  and  ball  foot  went  out  of  fashion, 
and  was  replaced  by  the  light  and  elegant  cabriole  leg  ending  in  a  whorl  or 
scroll  toe,  adapted  from  the  contemporary  French  style.  Chairs  and  tables 
in  the  Chinese  taste  had  straight,  square  legs,  connected  by  stretchers,  similar 
to  Fig.  89,  the  fashion  for  stretchers  to  legs  being  revived  after  a  lapse  of 
thirty-five  to  forty  years. 

The  designs  for  furniture  in  the  Chinese  taste,  as  exemplified  in  the 
publications  of  such  cabinetmakers  as  Chippendale,  Ince  and  Mayhew,  and 
Robert  Manwaring,  are  for  the  most  part  extravagant  and  bad  ;  and  it  is 
fortunate  that  many  of  them,  showing  such  superfluity  of  ornament,  never 
appear  to  have  been  carried  out.1  The  pieces  in  this  taste  that  have  survived 
are,  in  general,  much  modified  from  the  designs  in  the  books,  and  many  of 
the  examples  uphold  the  high  standard  of  design  of  English  furniture, 
although  it  cannot  be  said  that  these  Chinese  pieces  were  ever  so  happy  as 
those  in  the  French  style. 

For  furniture  with  Gothic  ornamentation  even  less  can  be  said  than  for 
that  in  the  Chinese  mode  ;  on  such  pieces  as  bookcases,  it  was  in  bad  taste  ; 
but  when  applied  to  chairs,  it  was  still  worse.  The  Gothic  furniture,  how- 
ever, never  became  very  popular,  and  pieces  with  this  distinctive  character 
are  now  seldom  found. 

Apart  from  pieces  designed  wholly  in  the  Chinese  taste,  this  taste  shows 
itself  in  applied  fret  decoration  on  the  friezes  of  bookcases  and  tables,  and 
it  is  also  found  on  the  legs  and  rails  of  chairs.  The  chairs  were  made  with 
square  backs,  which  were  also  filled  with  a  fret  design.  Tripod  tables  and 
centre  tables  of  this  period,  as  shown  in  Figs.  76  and  94,  were  designed  with 
galleries  of  Chinese  pierced  fret.  The  tops  of  bookcases  and  cabinets  were 
surmounted  with  pierced  fret  galleries  similar  to  Figs.  83  and  84  ;  in  fact, 

1  It  is  possible  that  many  of  these  elaborate  pieces  were  made  in  softwood  and  japanned  or  gilt,  as 
Chippendale,  in  his  book,  suggests  this  treatment  for  them.  This  might  account  for  their  not  having  survived, 
which  they  would  probably  have  done  if  made  in  mahogany. 

87 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


it  may  be  said  that  this  Chinese  ornament  was  grafted  on  to  pieces  of 
furniture  wherever  it  could  be  applied  tastefully.  Fret,  either  pierced  or 
applied,  of  Gothic  design  was  also  employed. 

WORKMANSHIP 

In  distinction  from  the  methods  of  the  early  Mahogany  period,  veneer- 
ing was  more  largely  employed  in  this  period  than  construction  in  the  solid 
wood.  Fronts  of  drawers  and  tops  of  tables  were  veneered  with  finely 
grained  mahogany1 — Cuban  mahogany  being  generally  used  for  the  better 
class  of  furniture,  and  Honduras  mahogany,  which  is  a  softer  and  more 
open-grained  variety,  for  the  unimportant  and  less  prominent  parts  of  pieces 
and  for  articles  of  a  lower  grade.  Spanish  mahogany,  having  little  or  no 
figure,  was  superseded  as  unsuitable  for  this  purpose. 

Finely  marked  veneer,  obtained  by  cutting  the  mahogany  in  a  manner 
similar  to  that  used  with  the  walnut,  was  again  employed  by  the  cabinet- 
maker for  the  purposes  of  decoration  ;  as  with  walnut,  veneer  cut  from  the 
root  of  a  tree  having  a  finer  and  more  marked  figure  than  that  of  the  trunk. 

The  fret  galleries  to  tables  were  made  up  of  three  layers  of  wood,  glued 
together  in  such  a  way  that  the  grain  of  the  middle  layer  runs  across  the 
width  of  the  fret  and  that  of  the  outer  layers  with  its  length.  This  method 
of  construction  was  specially  adopted  to  give  strength  and  to  prevent 
warping. 

In  this  period  deal  and  pine  were  more  often  used  for  carcase  work  than 
oak  ;  the  remarks  in  Chapter  IV  on  Walnut  Furniture  about  the  use  of  deal 
and  oak  apply  also  to  this  period,  especially  with  regard  to  drawers,  a  piece 
of  high  quality  having  oak-lined  drawers,  while  an  inferior  quality  piece 
would  have  drawers  of  deal  or  pine. 

The  quality  of  the  carving  in  this  period  is  very  noticeable.  The 
plainer  pieces  of  the  earlier  years  were  without  carving,  but  in  furniture  of 
this  period  decoration  in  the  shape  of  applied  fret  is  often  found  on  pieces 
of  inferior  quality.  The  carving  on  these  pieces  is  of  a  low  standard  as, 
being  executed  in  the  cheaper,  softer,  and  more  open-grained  Honduras 
mahogany,  the  beautifully  crisp  and  sharply  cut  work,  peculiar  to  the  harder 
and  closer-grained  San  Domingo  and  Cuban  woods,  cannot  be  obtained.  For 
examples  of  pieces  with  fine  carving,  see  Figs.  82  and  94. 

1  See  Fig.  98. 

88 


A  mahogany  Armchair,  with  finely  carved  and  pierced  splat  and  cabriole  legs  ending  in  scroll  toes. 

Circa  1745. 

Fig.  82.  Col.  C. 


FURNITURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  MAHOGANY  PERIOD 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 

The  remarks  made  in  the  previous  chapter  on  spurious  pieces  of  the 
early  Mahogany  period  apply,  in  general,  equally  well  to  this  period,  especi- 
ally those  on  open  grain  ;  but  with  one  exception,  that  in  place  of  carved 
decoration  for  enhancing  the  value  of  plain  pieces,  the  imitator  uses  the 
Chinese  fret  ornament.  This  type  of  ornament  is  much  less  costly  than 
carving,  and  it  can  be  much  more  extensively  used  for  the  decoration  of  plain 
surfaces,  such  as  the  friezes  of  cabinets  and  bookcases,  legs  of  chairs  and  tables. 
There  is  one  point,  however,  that  should  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
application  of  spurious  fret  ornament.  On  a  piece  of  furniture  such  as  the 
tallboy,  the  frieze  is  formed  by  the  bottom  moulding  of  the  cornice  and  a 
small  moulding  fixed  on  the  carcase.  The  sections  of  these  mouldings 
above  and  below  a  plain  frieze  will  not  usually  allow  of  the  application  of  a 
fret  so  deep  as  the  genuine  old  fret  ;  and  the  imitator,  to  keep  within  the 
projection  of  the  lower  members  of  the  two  mouldings,  can  only  use  a  fret 
so  shallow  that  it  does  not  generally  exceed  ^  of  an  inch.  The  difference 
between  this  spurious  applied  fret  and  the  genuine  fret,  which  is  seldom  less 
than  £  of  an  inch  in  depth,  should  be  apparent.  This  modern  applied  fret 
is  generally  very  shallow,  as,  wherever  it  is  applied,  whether  on  the  friezes  of 
tables  and  cabinets  or  on  the  canted  corners  of  chests,  there  will  always  be 
the  difficulty  of  the  added  thickness  of  the  fret  not  being  in  accord  with  the 
contiguous  mouldings  or  surrounding  surfaces. 

The  old  fret,  being  cut  by  hand  with  the  saw,  shows  little  irregularities 
and  deviations  from  pattern  ;  the  sides  of  the  fret,  for  instance,  will  not  be 
square  with  the  face,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  fret  galleries  to  tables  and 
pierced  fret  friezes.  The  modern  fret,  being  cut  in  a  machine,  is  always 
precise  and  accurate.  To  get  the  new  fret  decoration  the  required  colour  it 
is  either  stained  or  treated  with  acid  and  afterwards  waxed,  dark  wax  being 
well  worked  into  the  corners  of  the  fret  and  allowed  to  remain  there. 

In  the  following  notes  dealing  with  various  articles  of  furniture  in  this 
period  will  be  found  particulars  of  the  pieces  usually  selected  by  the  imitator 
for  the  addition  of  fret  ornament  and  of  his  methods  of  applying  it. 

Chairs,  Stools,  and  Settees. — As  already  explained,  the  cabriole  leg 
with  claw  and  ball  foot  of  this  period  was  superseded  by  the  French  cabriole 

89 


s 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


leg  with  whorl  or  scroll  toe  and  a  square  straight  leg  with  stretchers. 
This  was  the  radical  change  in  chairs,  stools,  and  settees  from  the  style 
of  the  previous  period.1  The  cabinetmakers  of  this  period  also  favoured 
upholstered  backs  to  chairs  and  settees,  similar  to  the  contemporary  French 
furniture.  Examples  of  a  chair  and  settee  of  this  type  are  shown  in  Figs. 
64  and  101.  A  chair  which  was  an  innovation  of  this  period  was  the 
"  ribbon-back  chair,"  with  its  splat  elaborately  carved  with  a  design  of 
interlaced  ribbons.  Owing,  however,  to  the  elaborate  carving  necessitated 
in  a  chair  of  this  design,  it  was  a  type  that  must  have  been  very  expensive 
to  make,  and  was  not  therefore  produced  in  large  numbers  ;  hence  its 
great  rarity  to-day.  Many  spurious  chairs  of  this  pattern  have  been  made 
of  entirely  new  construction  by  the  imitator.  In  fact,  it  may  be  said  that 
about  95  per  cent,  of  the  existing  examples  are  spurious.  The  best  tests  to 
apply  to  this  type  of  chair  are  the  "resiliency"  test  described,  page  18,  and 
the  "  shoe  "  test,  page  44. 

Chairs,  stools,  and  settees  in  the  Chinese  taste  are  found  with  their 
legs  sometimes  plain  and  sometimes  with  fret  decoration,  either  applied, 
as  in  the  piece  illustrated  (Fig.  89),  or  carved  out  of  the  solid  wood. 
As,  however,  the  plain  straight  leg  was  far  more  extensively  used  at  this 
period  and  later,  many  more  examples  of  it  exist  to-day  than  of  the 
decorated  leg.  The  imitator  enhances  the  value  of  these  plain  legs  by 
applying  fret  ornament  to  them  and  piercing  the  stretchers  ;  he  does 
not  carve  the  fret  design  out  of  the  solid  leg,  as  the  work  would  be  too 
expensive  and  by  so  doing  he  could  not  keep  the  original  colour.  The 
collector  should  therefore  always  make  close  examination  of  chairs  with 
fret  legs. 

As  chairs  with  cabriole  legs  are  far  more  valuable  than  those  with  plain 
straight  legs,  a  number  of  armchairs  will  be  found  with  two  genuine  cabriole 
legs  (generally  taken  from  a  chair  with  an  upholstered  back,  which  would  not 
be  of  great  value)  substituted  for  their  original  plain  ones.  The  difficulty  that 
the  imitator  has  to  overcome  is  that  the  chair  in  its  original  form  with  plain 
straight  legs  had  stretchers.  With  the  new  cabriole  legs  he  cannot  replace 
these  ;  neither  can  he  hide  the  marks  in  the  back  legs  where  the  stretchers 
were  originally  mortised.  He  cannot  very  well  supply  new  back  legs,  as 
this  would  involve  renewing  the  side  rails  of  the  back,  which  are  in  one 
piece  with  the  back  legs.    The  collector  should  therefore,  in  purchasing 


1  Pieces  with  the  former  leg  still  continued  to  be  made,  however,  in  this  period,  as  the  division  between 
styles  was  never  abrupt. 

90 


BUREAUX,  BUREAU  BOOKCASES,  AND  CABINETS 


chairs  of  this  period  with  cabriole  legs,  always  look  carefully  for  any  mortise 
marks  of  stretchers  in  the  back  legs. 

Bureaux,  Bureau  Bookcases,  and  Cabinets. — The  bureau  of  the  last 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century  must  have  been  a  very  popular  piece  of 
furniture,  since  large  numbers  exist  to-day.  With  regard  to  the  bureau 
bookcase  the  most  desirable  type  is  that  with  glazed  lattice  doors,  generally 
of  geometrical,  and  sometimes  of  Gothic,  design.1  Another  type  was  made 
with  wood  panels  to  the  doors.  These  being  unsaleable,  however,  the  imita- 
tor converts  them  into  the  desirable  variety  by  replacing  the  wooden  panels  by 
glazed  lattice.  In  this  alteration  entirely  new  doors  are  sometimes  provided, 
while  in  other  cases  the  lattice  is  added  to  the  existing  door  frame.  In  the 
latter  method  a  difficulty  arises  owing  to  the  fact  that  glazed  lattice  doors 
have  narrower  stiles  than  those  with  wooden  panels.  The  stiles,  therefore, 
have  to  be  reduced  in  width  by  cutting  away  the  inner  sides  of  the  frame  ; 
and  examination  should  be  made  of  the  top  and  bottom  edges  of  the  doors  to 
see  whether  the  tenons  overlap  the  glazing.  These  tenons  always  came  right 
through  the  framing  to  the  outer  edges  of  the  doors  ;  if  the  bottom  of  the 
top  tenon  is  below  the  level  of  the  top  edge  of  the  glass,  and  the  top  of  the 
bottom  tenon  is  likewise  above  the  level  of  the  bottom  edge  of  the  glass,  it  will 
be  evident  that  the  stiles  have  been  reduced,  and  that  the  piece  originally  had 
plain  wooden  panels.  Besides  this,  a  swan-neck  pediment  top  will  be  added  to 
the  cornice  ;  and  the  plain  mouldings  will  be  enriched  with  carving. 

The  wing  bookcases  of  this  period,  similar  to  Figs.  84  and  99,  have  lost 
the  architectural  character  and  proportion  of  those  of  the  previous  period  ; 
the  bottom  part  is  higher,  the  design  much  lighter,  and  the  mouldings  are 
less  heavy  in  section.  Bookcases  of  this  period  are  rare  ;  and  most  of  the 
existing  wing  bookcases  date  from  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  plain  examples  the  imitator  adapts  by  carving  the  mouldings,  adding 
a  fret  to  the  frieze,  panelling  the  doors  of  the  lower  portion  with  shaped 
carved  panels,  and  decorating  them  with  paterae  or  rosettes.  In  this  way 
he  converts  a  plain  example  of  the  late  eighteenth  century  into  a  "  Chippen- 
dale "  bookcase. 

Cabinets  or  china  cabinets,  as  in  the  periods  already  dealt  with,  are  ex- 
ceptionally rare.  They  were  undoubtedly  made  at  this  period,  as  in  the 
catalogues  of  the  cabinetmakers  many  elaborate  designs  for  them,  especially 
in  the  Chinese  taste,  are  shown.    It  should  be  noted  that  a  cabinet  made 

1  As  examples  of  geometrical  and  Gothic  lattice  doors  see  the  bookcases  shown  in  Figs.  99  and  84. 

91 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


specially  for  the  display  of  china  was  made  at  this  period  with  sides  glazed 
like  the  front.    By  this  they  can  be  distinguished  from  bookcases. 

While  spurious  china  cabinets  of  this  period  are  not  so  often  made 
to-day  by  the  imitator  as  the  walnut  china  cabinet,  for  which  there  is  a 
greater  demand,  there  are  a  number  of  spurious  examples  in  existence  which, 
from  their  design,  appear  to  have  been  copied  direct  from  the  old  designs 
in  the  trade  catalogues  of  Chippendale  and  other  cabinetmakers. 

In  addition  to  these  spurious  china  cabinets  the  imitator  makes  small 
cabinets  on  stands  with  pagoda  tops,  and  also  a  type  of  open  stand,  formed 
with  two  or  three  tiers  and  elaborately  carved  with  ornament  in  the  Chinese 
taste.  These  pieces  undoubtedly  were  originally  intended  to  be  made,  as 
already  mentioned,  in  softwood,  either  lacquered  or  gilt  ;  and  not  in 
mahogany,  like  the  present-day  imitations. 

The  collector,  when  he  comes  across  a  china  cabinet  purporting  to  be 
of  this  period,  similar  to  those  described  above,  should  doubt  its  authenticity 
and  carefully  examine  it. 

Another  favourite  article  of  the  imitator  is  the  hanging  wall  cabinet 
for  the  display  of  china.  These  spurious  examples  are  sometimes  carved 
with  pagoda  tops  and  grotesque  masks  in  the  Chinese  taste.  The  genuine 
examples  usually  met  with  are  of  plain  design  with  mahogany  shelves  fitted 
into  pierced  fret  sides,  either  in  the  Chinese  or  Gothic  taste. 

All  these  imitations  are  generally  made  from  old  material,  the  freshly 
cut  and  carved  surfaces  being  treated  with  acids  to  obtain  the  right  colour  ; 
they  are  then  French  polished  and  waxed,  as  already  described  in  Chapter  II. 
Their  appearance,  generally,  is  not  reassuring,  as  the  surface  of  the  wood  has 
an  even,  dead  appearance,  only  relieved  by  the  dirtied  wax  which  is  rubbed 
into  the  crevices.  The  gloss  on  the  surface  is  an  artificial  one  caused  through 
the  application  of  French  polish  to  fill  up  the  open  grain  ;  it  is  not  the  gloss 
of  the  bare  mahogany,  which  can  only  be  obtained  through  constant  rubbing 
and  dusting  over  a  long  period. 

Tables,  Card  Tables,  and  Urn  Stands. — The  tripod  table  of  the 
earlier  Mahogany  period  was  made  in  considerable  numbers  during  this 
period,  the  claw  and  ball  foot  giving  way  to  the  French  scroll  or  whorl  toe, 
and  the  pie-crust  to  the  pierced  gallery  top  shown  in  Fig.  76.  The  gallery 
top,  like  the  pie-crust  top,  is  much  copied  by  the  imitator  ;  especially  since 
it  can  be  made  out  of  a  piece  of  old  mahogany  with  its  original  surface,  the 
fret  gallery  alone  being  new.    A  peculiarity  of  an  original  fret  gallery  is  that 

92 


TABLES,  CARD  TABLES,  AND  URN  STANDS 


the  middle  layer  of  the  three-ply  fret  will  project  slightly  above  the  two 
outside  layers.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  outside  layers  being  placed 
with  their  grain  lengthways  have  shrunk  across  the  grain,  whereas  the  middle 
layer  having  its  grain  vertical  has  not  shrunk  and  therefore  projects  slightly. 
The  shrinkage,  owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  gallery,  will  be  very  slight, 
but  still  perceptible  if  the  finger  is  passed  along  the  edge  of  the  top. 
Careful  examination  of  a  spurious  fret  gallery  will  show  all  the  signs  of 
recent  manufacture.  On  an  original  gallery  the  inside  of  the  fret  will  be 
hard  and  encrusted  with  dust,  whereas  the  dirtied  wax  or  stain  applied  to  the 
inside  of  the  modern  fret  can  be  rubbed  off  with  a  handkerchief,  disclosing 
the  light  colour  of  the  freshly  cut  wood.  Some  of  the  original  fret  galleries 
have  been  restored  with  new  lengths  of  fret  ;  but  careful  examination  will 
disclose  the  differing  qualities  of  the  old  and  new  work. 

The  centre  table  with  fret  gallery  similar  to  Fig.  94,  but  with  straight 
fretted  legs  connected  by  pierced  cross-stretchers  in  the  Chinese  taste,  is  a 
great  rarity,  much  sought  after  at  the  present  time.  Owing  to  the  fragile 
nature  of  the  pierced  gallery  and  stretchers,  examples  are  often  found 
defective  in  these  respects. 

Another  innovation  at  this  period  is  the  small  urn  stand,  generally  about 
2  ft.  6  in.  in  height,  with  a  square  top.  Fine  examples  of  these  stands  have 
their  legs  and  friezes  decorated  with  applied  fret  ornament,  and  have  fret 
galleries  and  pierced  stretchers  similar  to  the  centre  tables.  Owing  to  the 
rarity  of  the  centre  and  urn  tables  with  fret  decoration,  the  imitator  makes 
spurious  specimens  either  by  applying  new  fret  decoration,  galleries,  and 
stretchers  to  plain  examples,  or  by  making  imitations  of  new  construction. 
The  former  can  always  be  recognised  by  the  thinness  of  the  fret  decoration, 
as  all  genuine  examples  have  a  deep-cut  fret. 

Card  tables  of  this  period,  like  the  chairs,  are  either  found  with  the 
French  cabriole  leg  ending  in  a  whorl  toe  or  with  straight  legs  decorated 
with  fret.  Many  plain  examples  exist  of  the  latter  type  which  the  imitator 
has  decorated  in  a  way  similar  to  that  already  described.  Fine  examples  of 
card  tables  of  this  period  invariably  have  serpentine  tops,  the  edges  of  which 
are  decorated  with  carving. 

Commodes. — The  commode,  generally  with  serpentine  front,  and  doors 
enclosing  a  cupboard,  or  with  drawers,  as  in  Fig.  98,  is  a  piece  of  furniture 
which  the  cabinetmakers  of  this  period  adapted  from  the  French  article  of 
the  same  name.    Commodes  are  much  sought  after  by  collectors,  not  only 

93 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


because  they  are  rare  and  of  fine  quality,  but  because  they  are  pieces  specially 
suitable  for  reception-rooms.1  This  refers  particularly  to  the  commode  with 
cupboard  doors  ;  those  with  drawers,  though  more  often  found,  are  not  so 
highly  prized.  One  of  the  chief  decorative  features  of  the  commodes  with 
drawers  are  the  canted  corners,  which  on  fine  examples  are  decorated  with 
carving,  as  shown  in  Fig.  98.  This  piece  of  furniture  is  much  favoured  by 
the  imitator,  and  plain  examples  with  canted  corners  are  eagerly  purchased 
by  him,  so  that  he  can  "carve-up"  the  mouldings  and  decorate  the  faces 
of  the  corners  with  applied  carving,  generally  of  flowers  in  high  relief. 
He  is  also  helped  in  making  spurious  commodes  by  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
certain  type  of  chest  with  drawers  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  with  a 
serpentine  front  but  with  square  instead  of  canted  corners,  as  the  serpentine 
shape  stops  about  two  or  three  inches  from  the  ends.  The  imitator  can 
easily  adapt  this  type  of  chest  into  a  commode  by  converting  the  square 
corners  into  canted  ones.  He  will  also  shape  the  straight  sides  of  the  chest 
like  those  of  a  commode.  By  this  adaptation  he  increases  the  value  of  a 
piece  worth   about  £10  up  to  about  £150  at  an  outlay  of  about  £10 

Bedroom  Furniture. — Pieces  of  furniture,  such  as  chests-with-drawers, 
wardrobes,  tallboys,  and  dressing  tables  of  this  middle  period  of  mahogany, 
are  by  no  means  plentiful  to-day,  as  most  existing  examples  date  from  the 
last  quarter  of  the  century.  The  piece  most  frequently  met  with  is  the 
tallboy  decorated  with  Chinese  fret  on  the  canted  corners  and  frieze, 
similar  to  Fig.  88.  The  ogee  bracket  foot  shown  on  this  piece  was  intro- 
duced by  cabinetmakers  of  this  period  ;  this  type  of  foot  is  generally  found 
only  on  examples  of  high  quality,  to  which  it  adds  importance  and  value, 
especially  if  decorated  with  carving.  The  ordinary  straight  bracket  foot, 
however,  similar  to  Fig.  36,  is  more  frequently  met  with. 

The  tallboy  is  one  of  the  favourite  articles  which  the  imitator  decorates 
with  his  spurious  fret,  as  a  very  large  quantity  of  plain  tallboys,  dating  from 
the  late  eighteenth  century,  have  survived.  The  collector  should,  therefore, 
always  be  suspicious  of  tallboys  decorated  with  shallow  fret. 

Besides  the  tallboy  of  this  period  there  are  also  chests-with-drawers 
with  serpentine  fronts.  The  examples  with  shaped  instead  of  straight  sides 
are  the  more  valuable.    The  serpentine-fronted  chest-with-drawers  must 

1  Although  this  piece  with  drawers  is  termed  a  commode,  originally  it  was  no  doubt  intended  as  a  piece  of 
bedroom  furniture. 

94 


A  mahogany  Tallboy,  showing  by  the  design  ot  the  handles  and  the  fret  decoration 
on  the  canted  corners  and  frieze  the  influence  of  the  Chinese  taste. 

Circa  1755. 

Fig.  88.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Chair,  showing  influence  of 
Chinese  taste  in  the  legs  and  stretchers. 

Circa  1760. 
Fig.  89.  Col.  N. 


A  mahogany  Corner  Armchair,  with  all  four  legs 
cabriole,  and  ending  in  claw  and  ball  feet. 
Circa  1750. 

Fig.  90.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Reading  Stand. 
Circa  1760. 


Fig.  91. 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Dressing  Table,  with  ogee  bracket  feet  and 
serpentine  front. 
Circa  1  7  50. 

Fig.  92.  Col  C. 


A  mahogany  Card  Table,  with  architectural  frieze,  edge 
of  the  top  carved  with  rose  and  ribbon  ornament. 
Circa  1 7  40. 

Fig.  y3.  Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Centre  Table,  with  cabriole  legs,  ending  in 
claw  and  ball  feet. 
Circa  1750. 

.  94.  Col. 


BEDROOM  FURNITURE 


not  be  confused,  however,  with  the  commode  with  drawers  ;  the  latter  is 
generally  longer  and  lower. 

The  dressing  table  of  the  period,  similar  to  those  illustrated,  Figs.  95 
and  96,  is  very  rare.  Chippendale  in  his  trade  catalogue  shows  pieces  very 
similar  in  design  to  that  seen  in  Fig.  95. 

The  wardrobe  (generally  known  to-day  as  the  "  gentleman's  ward- 
robe"), with  an  upper  part  containing  open  trays  enclosed  by  cupboard 
doors,  and  a  bottom  part  consisting  of  drawers,  was  made  in  very  large 
numbers  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  the  early 
examples  dating  from  the  middle  of  the  century  are  now  much  scarcer. 
The  most  valuable  wardrobes  have  serpentine  fronts  with  canted  corners 
decorated  with  fret  ornament,  which  is  sometimes  applied  and  sometimes 
carved  out  of  the  solid  wood.  The  more  ordinary  type  of  wardrobe  has  a 
straight  front  and  panelled  doors  to  the  upper  part.  Although  of  excellent 
workmanship  it  is  not  much  in  demand  ;  the  hanging  type  of  wardrobe,  i.e. 
with  long  cupboard  doors  and  no  drawers  underneath,  is  more  sought  after, 
being  more  convenient  for  modern  requirements.  This  hanging  wardrobe 
from  its  great  scarcity  to-day  appears  to  have  been  made  but  seldom  in  the 
eighteenth  century  ;  and  owing  to  its  being  in  great  demand  to-day,  is  much 
imitated,  generally  of  new  construction  from  old  mahogany.  When  a 
genuine  example  is  met  with  it  is  usually  of  very  plain  design  and  poor 
workmanship.  These  the  imitator  enhances  in  value  by  the  addition  of 
pediment  tops  and  by  converting  the  square  corners  of  the  door  panels  to 
shaped  corners  with  carved  rosettes.  He  will  also  adapt  mahogany  wardrobes 
of  a  good  colour,  dating  from  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  into 
spurious  examples  of  the  so-called  "  Chippendale  "  hanging  wardrobe  of  the 
middle  eighteenth  century.  This  he  affects  by  altering  the  section  of  the 
mouldings  and  decorating  the  doors  with  rosettes  and  shaped  panels.  All 
these  adaptations  can  be  detected  by  careful  examination  of  the  mouldings 
and  carving  for  any  sign  of  open  grain  or  French  polish. 


95 


CHAPTER  X 


LATE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  FURNITURE 

1765-1800 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

ABOUT  1765,  when  the  current  rococo  and  baroque  extravagances 
had  begun  to  pall  upon  the  public  taste,  England,  not  for  the  first 
time,  looked  to  France  for  inspiration  and  new  ideas.  At  this  time 
France  was  experiencing  a  return  to  purer  classicism,  both  in  architecture 
and  decoration,  and  the  florid  style  of  Louis  Quinze  was  yielding  to  the 
more  restrained  and  chaste  lines  of  that  of  Louis  Seize.  The  first  signs 
of  this  classical  reaction  in  England  can  be  traced  in  the  sporadic  efforts 
of  certain  dilettanti  and  amateurs,  but  it  remained  for  two  brothers  to 
create  a  real  interest  in  this  revival  and  ensure  its  success.  Sons  of  a 
Scotch  architect,  Robert  and  James  Adam  were  born  and  brought  up  in 
an  atmosphere  of  art,  and  while  endowed  with  taste,  talent,  and  inventive 
genius,  they  were  not  lacking  in  the  more  material  qualities  of  enterprise, 
foresight,  and  determination.  To  this  combination  of  the  artistic  and  the 
practical  their  deservedly  great  reputation  must  be  attributed. 

About  1754,  Robert  Adam  left  England  on  a  tour  through  France  and 
Italy,  where  he  studied  and  made  numerous  drawings  of  Roman  remains.  In 
one  respect — and  that,  in  the  light  of  his  future  activities,  a  very  significant 
one — his  attitude  differed  from  that  of  most  architects  who  travelled  on  the 
Continent  in  search  of  knowledge  and  inspiration  :  he  noticed  the  effects 
and  apparent  results  of  the  classical  revival  which  was  taking  place  around 
him,  and,  adapting  his  imagination  to  modern  possibilities,  he  contemplated 
the  architectural  remains  he  visited,  not  merely  with  a  view  to  reproducing 
their  essential  rules  and  salient  features  in  public  buildings,  but  also  with 
the  idea  of  applying  them  to  private  houses.  On  his  return  to  England 
about  1758,  Robert  set  up  in  business  with  his  brother  James,  and  the 
famous  firm  of  R.  &  J.  Adam  entered  upon  its  prosperous  and  influential  career. 

96 


A  mahogany  Dressing  Table,  with  shaped  front.      Edge  of  top  decorated 
with  gadrooned  moulding. 
Circa  1760. 

Fig.  95.  Col.  1). 


Fig.  96. 


Mahogany  Dressing  Table. 
Circa  1745. 


Col.  M. 


HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


One  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  the  work  of  Robert  Adam  was 
its  versatility,  for  he  would  design  not  only  a  house  but  everything  in  it,  even 
down  to  the  fenders  and  fireirons.  As,  however,  he  was  first  and  foremost 
an  architect,  his  efforts  in  furniture  design  were  limited  to  what  he  required 
for  his  own  work — in  other  words,  for  the  houses  he  himself  designed  or 
decorated  ;  consequently,  the  amount  of  furniture  of  his  design  existing 
to-day  is  not  large.  But  so  strong  and  individual  was  his  taste  that  he 
succeeded  in  creating  a  style  which  was  followed  and  imitated  by  cabinet- 
makers and  designers,  and  in  this  way  the  Adam  style  of  design  came  into 
existence.  Whether  he  actually  created  a  style  or,  what  is  more  likely, 
discovered,  encouraged,  and  directed  a  tendency,  may  be  open  to  discussion  ; 
but  it  is  certain  that  he  had  the  foresight  to  estimate  the  trend  of  public 
taste,  and  the  ability  to  formulate  and  establish  it  on  definite,  permanent 
lines.  His  distinctive  personality  so  strongly  pervaded  his  work  that  the 
name  of  Adam  will  always  be  associated  with  the  architecture,  interior 
decoration,  and  furniture  of  the  last  thirty-five  or  forty  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Amongst  the  cabinetmakers  who  not  only  made  furniture  from  Adam's 
individual  designs,  but  also  made  pieces  in  the  Adam  style,  may  be  mentioned 
the  firm  of  Chippendale — a  fact  which  again  tends  to  prove  that  Thomas 
Chippendale  was  not  a  creative  artist,  but  the  ingenious  servant  of  the 
current  fashion. 

In  addition  to  Chippendale,  other  followers  of  the  new  Adam  style, 
besides  the  surviving  cabinetmakers  of  the  previous  period,  were  Thomas 
Shearer,  the  Lancashire  firm  of  Gillow,  who  at  this  time  opened  a  workshop 
in  London,  and  Seddon,  Sons  &  Shackleton. 

Two  other  notable  personalities  of  this  period  were  George  Hepple- 
white,  a  cabinetmaker  and  designer,  and  Thomas  Sheraton,  a  designer  and  a 
teacher  of  drawing.  The  designs  of  these  two  men,  whilst  owing  their 
origin  to  the  Adam  and  French  styles,  strike  a  distinctive  note  in  the 
development  of  the  style  of  furniture  at  this  period.  George  Hepple- 
white  is  best  known  to-day  by  the  elegant  oval  and  shield  back  chairs  and 
settees  produced  by  his  own  firm  and  many  other  lesser  cabinetmakers  from 
the  designs  in  his  firm's  catalogue.  Thomas  Sheraton,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  a  most  versatile  designer  of  furniture,  and  was  specially  noted  for  his 
designs  of  such  articles  as  ladies'  work  tables,  dressing  tables,  and  bijou 
pieces.  He  was  also  noted  for  the  making  of  furniture  with  ingenious 
mechanical  contrivances. 

g  97 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  French  Empire  style  began 
to  be  noticed  by  English  furniture  designers  such  as  Sheraton.  The  chief 
exponent,  however,  was  Thomas  Hope,  who  published  a  book  of  his  designs 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Empire  style  was  born  of  the  French 
Revolution.  Revolutions  begin  by  being  iconoclastic  ;  then  comes  a  period 
of  mingled  torpor,  indecision,  experiment,  compromise,  and  extravagance. 
Out  of  this  chaos  was  evolved  the  French  Empire,  and  with  it  came  the 
French  Empire  style.  Exhausted  France  borrowed  the  artistic  strength  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  and  draped  it  in  muslin  and  gossamer. 

With  the  introduction  of  this  decadent  period,  the  history  of  English 
furniture,  which  has  been  traced  through  three  hundred  years,  may  be 
brought  fitly  to  a  close.  Throughout  these  years,  though  almost  invariably 
susceptible  to  foreign  influences,  the  design  of  English  furniture  consistently 
retained  a  certain  degree  of  native  character  ;  it  rather  adapted  than 
borrowed,  and  improved  more  than  it  copied.  After  this  date,  though  the 
decadent  Empire  style  was  eventually  discarded,  no  new  artistic  development 
is  to  be  found  ;  whether  the  growing  intimacy  and  intercourse  between 
nations,  leading  inevitably  to  the  birth  of  collectivism  and  the  death  of 
individualism,  is  the  reason,  it  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  book  to  inquire. 

COLOUR  AND  PATINA 

The  colour  and  patina  of  mahogany  furniture  of  this  period  are  similar 
in  most  respects  to  those  of  the  furniture  dating  from  the  middle  of  the 
century.  A  large  number  of  pieces  of  this  date  have,  however,  been  French 
polished  ;  and  these  examples  can  be  recognised  to-day  by  their  highly 
polished  surfaces  and  their  yellow  and  reddish-brown  tone. 

The  satinwood  used  for  furniture  in  the  late  eighteenth  century  was 
a  variety  which  came  from  the  East  Indies,  and  was  very  hard  and  close- 
grained.  An  example  of  the  figure  and  grain  is  shown  on  the  top  of  the 
commode  illustrated,  Fig.  106.  This  East  Indian  satinwood,  when  found  on 
genuine  pieces  to-day,  is  a  golden-orange  colour,  and  good  examples  of  it  are 
the  Knife  Box,  311,  1880,  and  the  Escritoire  Bookcase,  W  89,  1910,  at  the 
Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London.  This  eighteenth  century  satinwood 
furniture  was  varnished  when  first  made;  the  varnish  used  was  very 
thin  and  transparent,  and  gives  the  surface  a  soft,  mellowed  appearance. 
Another  variety  of  satinwood  came  from  the  West  Indies  ;  this,  however, 

98 


DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 


had  a  more  open  grain,  and  was  not  introduced  into  England  for  furniture 
making  until  the  nineteenth  century.  Unlike  the  East  Indian  satinwood,  the 
veneer  was  knife-cut  and  not  saw-cut,  and  in  consequence  is  much  thinner. 
This  satinwood  has  a  more  regular  and  straight  grain  (see  Fig.  108),  and 
is  of  a  yellower  tone  in  comparison  to  the  golden  colour  of  the  East  Indian 
variety. 

DESIGN  AND  ORNAMENTATION 

The  cabinetmakers  and  designers  of  this  period  closely  followed  the 
design  of  the  contemporary  French  furniture  ;  they  also  copied  the  French 
methods  of  decoration,  such  as  metal  mounting  and  the  more  liberal  choice 
of  figured  woods  for  veneer  and  inlay,  and  even  adopted  French  names  for 
their  furniture — as,  for  example,  bergere,  fauteuil,  commode,  escritoire,  and 
secretaire. 

The  furniture  of  this  period  was  made  in  mahogany  and  satinwood, 
also  softwood,  the  last  being  either  painted  or  gilt,  or  sometimes  japanned. 
From  the  various  types  of  furniture  found  in  these  woods  it  would  appear 
that  the  fashionable  furniture  for  reception-rooms  or  salons  was  made  in 
satinwood  and  softwood.  The  dining-room  and  library  furniture  was 
mostly  made  in  mahogany,  and  the  bedroom  furniture  sometimes  in 
mahogany  and  sometimes  in  softwood,  painted  or  japanned.  There  are,  of 
course,  exceptions  to  this  rule,  as  a  satinwood  wardrobe  and  sideboard  are 
not  unknown,  and  mahogany  pieces  were  made  which,  from  their  refined 
and  elegant  design,  could  only  have  been  intended  for  use  in  the  salon  ;  but 
it  was  evidently  the  fashion  in  the  late  eighteenth  century  for  the  well-to-do 
to  furnish  their  rooms  in  this  manner.  From  this  rough  classification  the 
collector  will  get  some  general  idea  of  the  types  of  furniture  he  is  likely  to 
meet  with  in  the  various  woods,  and  it  will  also  explain  the  scarcity  of 
various  articles  of  furniture  in  satinwood,  and  how  difficult  it  would  be, 
to-day,  to  furnish  a  bedroom  in  genuine  old  satinwood.  In  this  period  many 
new  articles  of  furniture  were  introduced  by  the  cabinetmakers,  one  of  the 
principal  being  the  sideboard,  while  others  were  ladies'  work  tables,  small 
writing  tables  on  tapered  legs,  sofa  tables,  and  cheval  glasses. 

The  methods  employed  for  the  decoration  of  this  furniture  were  many. 
Pieces  were  veneered  with  fine  figured  varieties  of  mahogany  and  satinwood  ; 
harewood  was  also  used  for  veneer  or  inlay,  and  for  the  latter  purpose  other 
choice  coloured  or  figured  woods,  such  as  kingwood,  zebra-wood,  snake- 

99 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


wood,  amboyna,  burr  walnut,  rosewood,  and  boxwood,  were  laid  under  con- 
tribution. 

Painting  was  a  favourite  method  for  the  decoration  of  satinwood,  and  it 
is  said  that  Robert  Adam  was  largely  responsible  for  its  introduction.  For 
painting  panels  on  walls  and  ceilings  he  employed  Angelica  Kauffmann  and 
her  husband,  Antonio  Zucchi,  also  Pergolesi  and  Cipriani,  and  these  artists, 
Angelica  Kauffmann  in  particular,  also  decorated  with  paintings  a  number  of 
pieces  of  furniture  made  from  his  designs.  Most  existing  examples  of  painted 
satinwood,  however,  must  have  been  decorated  by  artists  of  considerably 
less  merit,  or  even  by  amateurs,  as  the  painting  of  furniture  was  a  fashionable 
pursuit  at  this  period.  The  design  of  the  painted  decoration  took  the  form 
of  flowers  and  ornamental  borders,  but  in  more  important  pieces  the  doors  of 
cabinets  and  commodes  would  be  decorated  with  oval,  round,  or  rectangular 
medallions,  after  pictures  by  Angelica  Kauffmann  and  Cipriani,  and  designs 
by  Pergolesi.  Sometimes  tables  had  their  tops  fitted  with  a  sheet  of  copper 
on  which  was  painted  a  medallion,  usually  of  figures  or  landscape  on  a 
coloured  ground,  generally  of  cream,  pink,  apple  green,  or  yellow.  The  legs 
and  friezes  of  these  tables  would  be  of  softwood,  carved  and  gilt,  similar  to 
Fig.  103.  Cabinets  and  commodes  were  also  made,  generally  painted  cream 
or  apple  green,  the  doors  and  panels  being  decorated  with  medallions  of 
figure  subjects,  sometimes  in  grisaille.  These  pieces  were  generally  made  of 
mahogany  and  not  softwood,  and  the  panels  of  the  doors  would  be  fitted  with 
thin  sheets  of  copper.  Metal  mounts  were  sometimes  used  on  commodes 
and  other  pieces  of  furniture,  but  this  mode  of  decoration  was  never  as  widely 
used  in  England  as  in  France.  Robert  Adam,  however,  greatly  favoured  the 
use  of  finely  chased  and  gilt  mounts,  and,  for  making  those  on  furniture 
of  his  own  design,  employed  French  craftsmen  specially  brought  to 
England. 

As  the  greater  portion  of  the  furniture  of  this  period  was  veneered, 
and  decorated  with  inlay  or  painting,  carving  was  confined  generally  to 
chairs  and  settees,  which  were  made  in  the  solid  wood.1  Two  or  more 
methods  of  decoration  were  often  employed  in  the  ornamentation  of  one  piece, 
such  as  inlay  and  metal  mounting,  or  painted  and  inlaid  decoration  combined 
with  gilding. 

The  most  popular  motif  of  design  was  the  honeysuckle,  which  held  a 
position  in  the  late  eighteenth  century  equivalent  to  that  of  the  escallop 
shell  in  the  Queen   Anne   period.    Originally  employed  by  the  Adam 

1  This  applies  to  mahogany,  as  satinwood  is  very  seldom  found  carved. 

IOO 


Fig.  97. 


A  mahogany  Commode. 
Circa  1745. 


Col.  C. 


A  mahogany  Commode,  with  serpentine  front  on  ogee  bracket  feet. 

Circa  l  760. 

Fig-  98-  Col.  P. 


WORKMANSHIP 


Brothers,  it  was  extensively  copied  by  lesser  designers  and  cabinetmakers, 
and  is  found  on  all  types  of  furniture  from  1770  to  1800,  either  carved 
on  chairs,  inlaid  or  painted  on  satinwood,  or  carved  in  softwood  and  gilt  ; 
it  was  also  widely  used  in  interior  decoration  and  for  silver  and  metal 
work. 

Owing  to  exigencies  of  space,  it  is  not  possible,  except  on  very  general 
lines,  to  deal  with  the  large  quantity  of  furniture  produced  in  this  period,  or 
the  many  and  varied  designs  in  which  it  was  made.  The  notes  at  the  end 
of  this  chapter,  dealing  with  various  articles  of  furniture,  have  therefore  been 
confined  to  a  consideration  of  the  genuine  articles  that  the  collector  is  most 
likely  to  meet  with,  the  types  that  are  rare  and  valuable,  and  those  pieces  of 
which  spurious  copies  are  most  likely  to  be  found,  or  which  the  imitator 
will  "  improve  "  to  increase  their  value. 

WORKMANSHIP 

As  may  be  gathered  from  the  brief  description  already  given  of  the 
furniture-  of  this  period,  it  is  impossible  to  detail  all  the  various  methods  of 
construction  that  the  cabinetmakers  employed  ;  but  the  following  remarks 
concerning  the  use  of  different  woods  for  the  making  of  the  carcases  and 
drawers  of  furniture  veneered  with  mahogany  and  satinwood  will  be  of 
interest. 

The  carcases  of  pieces  of  satinwood  furniture  of  high  quality  were 
made  of  mahogany,  and  pine  carcases  will  only  be  found  in  the  cheaper  and 
lower  grade  pieces.1  Oak  is  not  so  often  found,  perhaps  owing  to  its  having 
been  scarcer  and  more  expensive  than  the  ordinary  kinds  of  mahogany. 
The  drawers  of  satinwood  furniture  are  invariably  made  in  mahogany,  and 
mahogany  furniture  of  the  later  period  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  found 
with  the  drawers  lined  with  oak  (or  sometimes  with  mahogany),  except 
in  inferior  pieces,  when  pine  was  more  often  used.  The  bottoms  of 
drawers  of  the  late  eighteenth  century  furniture  were  made  in  two  pieces 
fixed  in  grooved  fillets  at  the  sides  and  a  double  grooved  fillet  in  the  middle, 
and  these  fillets,  inside  the  drawer,  project  above  the  bottom.  In  small 
drawers  the  middle  fillet  was  dispensed  with.  Veneered  mahogany  furniture 
of  this  period  is  found  with  the  carcase  generally  of  pine  but  sometimes  of 

1  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  if  veneered  on  softwood,  such  as  pine  or  deal,  the  saw-cut  East  Indian 
satinwood,  owing  to  its  superior  strength,  would  cause  the  carcase-wood  to  warp. 

IOI 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


deal.  Wardrobes  also  were  often  made  with  their  carcases  of  cedar,  as 
were  the  drawers  of  wardrobes  and  chests-with-drawers.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  how  varied  were  the  woods  used  for  the  making  of  carcases  in  this 
period.  The  choice  does  not  appear  to  have  been  determined  so  much 
by  the  cost  as  by  the  nature  of  the  article,  especially  as  regards  lining  of 
drawers.  For  instance,  the  drawers  of  sideboards  are  invariably  found  to 
be  made  of  oak  in  the  high  quality  examples  and  of  pine  in  inferior  ones, 
but  they  are  hardly  ever  found  made  of  mahogany. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  furniture  of  this  period  was  on  the  whole  of 
a  very  high  standard  of  workmanship,  but  as  in  every  period  of  English 
furniture  pieces  will  be  found  of  a  lower  grade  and  cheaper  variety,  so,  in 
the  inferior  mahogany  furniture  of  this  period,  the  omission  of  cross-banded 
veneered  edges  on  the  tops  of  sideboards  and  tables  and  drawer  fronts  and  of 
legs  of  tables  and  sideboards  will  be  noticed.  In  good  quality  examples 
these  edges  will  be  cross-banded  in  tulip  wood  or  kingwood,  whereas  in  the 
lower  grade  furniture  they  will  be  simply  decorated  with  a  line  of  boxwood. 

A  quantity  of  mahogany  furniture,  such  as  sideboards  and  chests- 
with-drawers,  is  met  with  to-day  with  the  tops  and  drawer  fronts  deco- 
rated with  a  banding,  about  an  inch  in  width,  of  West  Indian  satinwood  ; 
these  pieces,  it  would  seem,  were  decorated  in  this  manner  a  number  of 
years  after  they  were  made  in  order  to  relieve  their  otherwise  plain  appear- 
ance ;  they  are  generally  of  poor  quality  mahogany  and  not  worth  the 
attention  of  the  collector. 

All  the  above  points  concerning  the  quality  of  pieces  of  furniture  of 
this  period  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  collector  in  estimating  the 
present-day  value  of  such  pieces. 

SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 

There  is  no  great  inducement  for  the  imitator  to  make  imitations  of 
mahogany  furniture  of  this  period,  as,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  it  is  by 
no  means  so  valuable  as  that  of  the  previous  period.  He  therefore  enhances 
the  plain  mahogany  pieces  of  this  period  by  the  addition  of  ornament,  so 
that  they  may  be  mistaken  by  the  uninitiated  for  examples  of"  Chippendale." 
As,  however,  within  recent  years  plain  mahogany  furniture  of  the  late 
eighteenth  century  has  become  scarce,  the  imitator  is  forced  to  fall  back 
upon  early  nineteenth  century  pieces  for  these  conversions. 

102 


SPURIOUS  FURNITURE 


Satinwood  furniture,  however,  is  a  different  matter,  for  old  satinwood 
pieces  which  date  from  this  period  are  highly  prized  and  much  sought  after  ; 
therefore  spurious  pieces  of  new  construction,  as  well  as  old  pieces  improved 
in  value  by  modern  inlay  or  painting,  will  frequently  be  met  with.  As 
supplies  of  East  Indian  satinwood  are  still  obtainable,  spurious  reproductions 
of  the  best  class  are  veneered  with  this  wood  on  a  carcase  of  mahogany. 
The  veneer,  which  is  saw-cut  like  the  old,  is  treated  with  acid  to  bleach  it 
to  the  colour  of  the  genuine  old  satinwood,  an  alkali  wash  being  employed 
to  stop  the  action  and  eliminate  the  acid  when  the  right  colour  has  been 
obtained.  The  piece,  after  being  veneered,  is  completed  by  a  very  thin 
coating  of  light  French  polish,  made  from  the  white  shellacs,  very  little 
"  rubbing  down "  being  done  ;  this  thin  coating  of  the  polish  being 
equivalent  to  the  thin  coatings  of  transparent  varnish  with  which  the  old 
satinwood  was  finished.  If  the  piece  is  to  have  painted  decoration,  a 
priming  coat  will  be  put  on  the  wood  where  required  to  give  a  key  to  the 
paint,  and  the  decoration  is  covered  with  a  thin  protective  coat  of  polish 
before  the  general  finishing  coat  is  applied.  In  this  class  of  spurious  piece, 
satinwood  in  the  solid  may  be  used  for  the  legs,  but  they  are  more  likely  to 
be  made  of  birch,  as  mentioned  below. 

The  majority  of  the  spurious  satinwood  pieces  of  an  inferior  class  are 
made  with  pine  carcases  veneered  with  the  later  West  Indian  satinwood, 
which,  as  already  stated,  has  not  the  close  grain  of  the  earlier  variety,  and  has 
a  brighter  yellow  colour. 

A  quantity  of  spurious  satinwood  chairs  have  been  made  of  birch,  which 
has  a  close  grain  like  that  of  East  Indian  satinwood,  and  can  be  stained  and 
polished  to  a  near  resemblance  to  the  genuine  old  satinwood.  Birch,  being 
very  suitable  for  work  in  the  solid,  is  used,  generally,  for  legs  of  spurious 
pieces,  unless  they  are  veneered. 

The  imitator  has  made  many  successful  copies,  chiefly  of  china  cabinets  ; 
these  being  much  in  demand,  and  genuine  examples  being  very  rare,  best 
repay  him  for  his  work.  The  detection  of  this  spurious  satinwood  is  by  no 
means  easy.  A  close  study  of  the  grain  and  colour  of  genuine  old  satinwood 
will  help  the  collector  most,  as  a  knowledge  of  these  qualities  will  enable 
him  to  recognise  all  pieces  of  the  West  Indian  satinwood,  that  was  not  used 
for  furniture  until  the  nineteenth  century.  The  modern  pieces,  however,  of 
East  Indian  wood  will  have  a  yellow  and  bright  tone  compared  with  that  of 
the  old  satinwood,  and  if  the  piece  is  decorated  with  painting,  particular 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  character  of  this  work,  as  described  later. 

103 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Besides  these  pieces  of  new  construction,  the  imitator  will  veneer  the 
surfaces  of  old  mahogany  pieces.  These  imitations  will  be  more  difficult 
to  detect,  as  the  carcase  of  the  piece  will  be  genuine  ;  but,  again,  as  in  the 
entirely  new  imitation,  the  colour  of  the  satinwood  will  be  the  collector's 
greatest  safeguard.  Spurious  pieces  which  will  be  far  more  difficult  for  the 
collector  to  recognise,  are  those  pieces  of  genuine  old  satinwood  which  have 
had  their  value  increased — in  many  cases  doubly  and  trebly — by  the  addition 
of  painted  or  inlaid  decoration. 

When  the  embellishment  is  to  take  the  form  of  painting,  the  design  is 
painted  on  the  old  surface  and  the  whole  piece  thinly  French  polished,  as 
previously  described.  The  imitator  generally  errs  by  making  the  design  of 
the  new  painted  decoration  too  elaborate  and  important  for  the  piece.  On 
most  of  the  old  satinwood  pieces  decorated  with  painting,  the  design  is  simple 
and  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  piece  ;  it  was  only  on  important 
pieces  that  the  old  cabinetmakers  indulged  in  elaborate  designs.  The 
imitator,  in  order  to  vary  his  designs  of  painted  decoration,  will  also  copy 
pastoral  scenes  after  the  eighteenth  century  French  artists,  Watteau  and 
Fragonard,  and  conceive  designs  of  cupids,  bouquets  of  flowers  and  ribbons 
in  the  French  style,  which  are  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the  character  of 
the  furniture,  and  which  the  eighteenth  century  cabinetmaker  would  never 
have  been  guilty  of  applying.  Generally  the  effect  of  this  modern  painting 
is  dull  and  unconvincing  and  seems  to  be  foreign  to  the  piece  ;  it  has  not 
the  thin,  clear  brilliancy  of  the  original  painting  (see  Fig.  103).  The  reason 
for  this  is,  that  the  paint  is  applied  too  thickly,  and  consequently  has  not  the 
bright,  clear  colouring  which  is  characteristic  of  the  genuine  painting  on 
old  pieces.  The  imitator,  in  order  to  give  an  antique  appearance  to  his  newly 
painted  work,  whether  it  is  on  an  old  piece  or  a  piece  of  new  construction, 
cracks  the  surface  of  the  decoration  by  exposure  to  strong  sunlight,  and  also 
by  the  application  of  paste,  as  in  the  case  of  spurious  lacquer,  see  p.  59. 

Besides  painting,  the  imitator  will  add  decoration  to  genuine  examples 
with  new  inlay  work.  This  new  inlay  will  be  cut  in  the  surface  of  the  old 
satinwood  veneer  and  scraped  down  to  the  general  level  ;  but  as  the  glue 
dries  and  contracts,  so  the  newly  inlaid  wood  will  gradually  sink  to  a  concave 
surface  and  can  thus  be  detected. 

One  peculiarity  about  old  satinwood  furniture  is  that  owing  to  the 
shrinkage  of  the  wood  of  the  carcase  the  satinwood  veneer  will  be  found 
cracked  ;  this  is  specially  noticeable  on  the  tops  of  Pembroke  tables,  on  the 
sides  of  cabinets,  and  on  the  doors  of  commodes. 

104 


A  mahogany  Wing  Bookcase,  with  rare  pagoda-top  moulding  above  lower  portion. 

Circa  1765. 

Fig.  99.  Co'-  N- 


•  4 


A  four  chair  back  mahogany  Settee,  backs  decorated  with  carved  design  ot  honeysuckle, 
legs  and  arms  in  the  French  taste. 
Circa  i  7  So 

'ig.   IOO.  Col.  1). 


I' ig.  101. 


A  mahogany  Settee,  with  unusual  carved  cresting  to  top. 
Circa  1765. 


Col.  C. 


CHAIRS,  SETTEES,  AND  SOFAS 


Another  type  of  imitation  of  furniture  of  this  period,  which  the  imitator 
extensively  produces,  is  the  painted  furniture  already  described  on  p.  100. 
These  imitations  are  generally  of  commodes  or  cabinets  decorated,  as  a  rule, 
with  backgrounds  of  cream,  apple  green,  or  yellow,  relieved  by  gilt  mouldings 
and  oval  or  circular  medallions  painted  with  classical  subjects.  As  already 
mentioned,  the  imitator  obtains  the  appearance  of  age  on  a  painted  surface 
very  successfully  by  French  polish,  which  he  afterwards  cracks  artificially  by 
heat  or  otherwise.  The  great  rarity  of  pieces  such  as  commodes  and  cabinets, 
in  this  type  of  painted  furniture  of  the  late  eighteenth  century,  should  be 
sufficient  to  place  the  collector  on  his  guard,  and  prevent  him  from  paying, 
for  a  spurious  piece,  the  price  of  a  genuine  one. 

Another  type  of  satinwood  and  mahogany  furniture  of  which  the 
collector  should  beware  includes  the  fifty-  or  sixty-year-old  reproductions  of 
late  eighteenth  century  examples,  which  were  extensively  made  by  several 
firms,  foremost  among  whom  was  that  of  Wright  &  Mansfield.  Besides 
mahogany  furniture,  examples  in  satinwood  were  extensively  reproduced,  and 
these,  owing  to  their  certain  age,  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  the  original 
eighteenth  century  pieces  ;  they  differ,  however,  in  the  following  important 
respects.  The  carcases  of  these  pieces  will  invariably  be  made  of  pine  and 
not  mahogany,  as  they  will  be  veneered  with  knife-cut  West  Indian  and  not 
saw-cut  East  Indian  satinwood,  and,  this  veneer  being  thin,  there  is  less 
danger  of  the  carcase  warping.  There  is  therefore  no  necessity  of  going  to  the 
expense  of  mahogany.  The  grain  will  be  different  and  the  colour  brighter  ; 
and,  like  the  modern  imitations  of  to-day,  the  surface  will  be  French  polished, 
not  varnished. 

Chairs,  Settees,  and  Sofas. — The  mahogany  chairs  in  the  earlier  part 
of  this  period  have  oval  or  shield-shaped  backs  carved  with  various  motifs, 
such  as  the  Prince  of  Wales'  feathers,  wheat-ears,  honeysuckle,  and  drapery. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  century  the  shield  and  oval  backs  were  superseded 
by  a  square  back  ;  this  latter  type  continued  into  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  when  the  tapered  leg  was  replaced  by  a  turned  one. 
The  earlier  type  of  chair  with  the  oval  or  shield  back  is  popularly  known 
to-day  as  "  Hepplewhite,"  and  the  square  back  chair  as  "  Sheraton,"  from 
the  fact  that  these  respective  types  were  illustrated  in  the  books  published  by 
these  designers.  Both  types  of  chair  were  made  originally  for  the  dining- 
room  in  sets  of  six,  eight,  or  ten  single,  and  two  armchairs  ;  but  the  oval  or 
shield  backs,  which  are  the  rarer  and  the  more  highly  prized,  are  not  often 

io5 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 

met  with  in  sets,  and  it  is  sets  of  the  so-called  "  Sheraton  "  chairs  that  are  most 
usually  found  to-day.  The  chairs  with  the  plain  turned  legs  are  less  valuable 
than  those  which  have  their  legs  tapered. 

Besides  these  mahogany  chairs,  beech  chairs  painted  and  gilt  were  also 
made  in  large  numbers,  generally  very  French  in  design  with  oval  upholstered 
backs  and  turned  fluted  legs.  Chairs  of  this  type  were  much  favoured  in  the 
late  eighteenth  century  for  the  salon  or  reception-room,  being  in  keeping 
with  the  satinwood  ;  to-day,  however,  they  are  very  seldom  found  with  their 
original  gilding.  Satinwood  chairs  were  also  favoured,  but  being  made  from 
the  solid  wood,  they  must  have  been  costly  ; 1  and  this  undoubtedly  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  very  few  are  extant  to-day.  They  are  invariably  decorated 
with  painting,  and  a  good  example  of  a  satinwood  armchair  is  illustrated  in 
Fig.  1 02.  Many  imitations  of  these  satinwood  chairs  have  been  made,  but 
the  modern  copy  is  very  much  lighter  in  weight  than  the  genuine  example, 
which  is  always  surprisingly  heavy. 

Mahogany  and  satinwood  settees  were  made  with  their  backs  similar  to 
the  chairs  ;  generally  they  were  designed  with  four  or  five  chair-backs  and 
not  with  the  two  or  three  chair-backs  of  the  earlier  settees.  An  example  of 
a  four-back  mahogany  settee  of  this  period  is  illustrated,  Fig.  100.  The 
more  usual  type  of  settee  or  sofa  of  this  period  is  that  with  the  upholstered 
back.  These  were  made  of  varying  design,  but  the  most  desirable  to-day 
are  those  with  shaped  backs,  enclosed  by  a  carved  mahogany  moulding, 
and  with  turned  and  fluted  legs.  A  later  type  have  square  backs  and  plain 
turned  legs. 

Secretaires  and  Writing  Tables. — The  secretaire  bookcase,  which 
replaced  the  bureau  bookcase  about  1775,  had  drawers  in  the  lower  part,  of 
which  the  top  one  took  the  place  of  the  bureau  slope,  and  when  pulled  out 
and  its  front  let  down  disclosed  a  space  for  writing,  with  pigeon-holes  and 
drawers  at  the  back.  The  upper  part,  as  in  the  bureau  bookcase,  had  either 
glazed  lattice  doors  or  wood  panelled  doors. 

This  piece  of  furniture  was  also  made  without  the  top  part,  the 
accommodation  being  equivalent  to  that  of  the  bureau  ;  but  as  bureaux  of 
this  period  exist  in  much  greater  numbers  to-day,  this  secretaire  without  a 
top  part  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  popular.    Secretaire  bookcases 

1  A  proof  of  the  cost  of  these  satinwood  chairs  is  provided  by  the  fact  that  contemporary  imitations 
were  made  in  painted  birch ;  the  collector  should  be  careful  not  to  mistake  these  old  imitations  in  birch  for  the 
rare  satinwood  examples. 

I06 


SECRETAIRES  AND  WRITING  TABLES— BOOKCASES 


were  usually  made  in  mahogany,  but  examples,  decorated  with  inlay  or 
painting,  are  also  found  in  satinwood,  in  which  material  the  bureau  and  the 
bureau  bookcase  are  hardly  ever  met  with.  From  this  it  may  be  deduced 
that  the  secretaire  was  the  new  fashionable  writing  cabinet  of  the  period. 

Several  other  types  of  writing  tables  were  made  in  the  late  eighteenth 
century,  of  which  one  was  a  small  dainty  table  about  3  ft.  in  width,  made 
both  in  mahogany  and  satinwood,  and  sometimes  in  harewood,  with  tapered 
legs  and  a  top  fitted  with  a  tambour  slide  which  could  be  drawn  over,  so  as 
to  enclose  the  writing  space. 

Another  type  of  writing  table  on  legs  is  that  known  as  the  "  Carlton  " 
table.  It  has  the  writing  space  surrounded  at  the  back  and  two  sides  by 
a  tier  of  small  cupboards,  drawers,  and  pigeon-holes,  and  is  found  both  in 
mahogany  and  satinwood,  but  genuine  period  examples  are  to-day  very  rare. 
A  large  number  of  reproductions,  however,  were  made  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  many  spurious  copies  are  made  to-day. 

Fine  specimens  of  pedestal  writing  tables  of  this  date  are  just  as  rare 
as  those  of  the  earlier  period.  One  of  the  finest  examples  extant  was  made, 
after  Robert  Adam's  design,  by  Chippendale  &  Haig  in  1773  for  Edwin 
Lascelles  ;  it  is  of  large  size,  decorated  with  inlay  of  choice  woods  and 
mounted  with  chased  and  gilt  metal  mounts.  Pedestal  tables  of  this 
description  were  made  for  the  library  in  the  large  houses  belonging  to  the 
nobility  and  wealthy  classes,  and  it  naturally  follows  that  examples  of  this 
kind  are  very  small  in  number. 

The  ordinary  type  of  mahogany  pedestal  writing  table  of  the  late 
eighteenth  century  is  quite  plain  in  character,  showing  that  it  was  made 
for  use  in  offices  and  other  utilitarian  purposes.  The  imitator  enhances  the 
value  of  these  plain  tables  by  carving  their  mouldings  and  applying  other 
carved  ornaments,  and  so  turning  them  into  elaborate  examples  of 
"  Chippendale." 

Bookcases. — The  design  of  bookcases  altered  very  little  from  that  of 
the  preceding  period,  except  that  the  wing  bookcase  of  the  late  eighteenth 
century  was  decorated  with  inlay  instead  of  carving,  and  sometimes  the  lattice 
of  the  glazed  doors  was  square  in  section  and  decorated  with  cross-banded 
veneer. 

Dwarf  bookcases  with  glazed  doors  were  not  made  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  as  the  earliest  examples  extant  date  from  the  early  nineteenth 
century.    Owing  to  the  demand  for  this  type  of  bookcase  many  imitations 

107 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


have  been  made,  sometimes  composed  of  the  upper  part  of  a  wing  bookcase 
or  a  secretaire  bookcase  ;  the  collector,  therefore,  in  search  of  such  a  piece 
should  realise  that  the  only  genuine  specimen  he  is  likely  to  find  will  date 
from  the  nineteenth  century. 

Tables. — A  number  of  small  tables  were  made  at  this  time  as  tea 
tables.  The  type  known  as  the  "  Pembroke  "  table  was  a  great  favourite 
for  this  purpose,  and  generally  had  a  square  or  oval  top  formed  of  three 
leaves,  the  two  drop  leaves  being  supported  by  small  winged  brackets  hinged 
on  to  the  framework,  and  the  legs  being,  in  the  most  usual  type,  tapered,  but 
sometimes  round  and  fluted.  Besides  mahogany  examples  of  this  table, 
a  number  were  made  of  satinwood,  as  a  rule  undecorated  except  for  tulip 
wood  or  kingwood  bandings  to  the  legs  and  top.  Those  with  painted  or 
inlaid  decoration  are  much  rarer,  although  painted  decoration  is  often  added 
to  plain  examples  by  the  imitator.  Sometimes  these  Pembroke  tables  are 
found  as  small  as  14  to  16  in.  across  the  top,  in  which  case  they  are  more 
highly  prized  to-day.  The  best  and  earliest  examples  have  their  legs 
connected  by  carved  crossed  stretchers,  centred,  where  the  stretchers  join  in 
the  middle,  by  a  carved  or  turned  finial.  Another  feature  of  their  design 
which  improves  their  present-day  value  is  a  serpentine  edge. 

Besides  the  Pembroke,  another  type  of  tea  table  much  desired  by 
modern  collectors  is  the  mahogany  spider-leg  gate  table,  with  a  rectangular 
top,  the  two  side  flaps  being  supported  by  legs,  which  pull  out  in  a  manner 
similar  to  the  oak  gate-leg  table.  The  slender  legs  are  turned,  and,  in  the 
best  examples,  terminate  in  small  club  feet  ;  the  tops  are  in  solid  mahogany 
and  not  veneered.  Many  of  these  tables  unfortunately  have  been  French 
polished,  and  those  with  their  original  patina  are  much  more  highly  valued. 

The  spider-leg  type  of  furniture  also  includes  the  much-sought-after 
nest  or  set  of  small  tables,  consisting  of  four  tables,  graduated  in  size  to  fit 
into  one  another.  These  have  rectangular  tops  supported  by  four  legs,  and 
are  mostly  found  in  mahogany,  genuine  examples  in  satinwood  being  very 
rare.  A  set  usually  comprises  four  tables,  and  if  two  or  three  only  are  met 
with,  the  set  is  imperfect.  If  the  table  of  least  size  in  a  set  has  grooves  in 
the  framework  under  the  top,  it  is  an  indication  that  a  still  smaller  table 
fitting  these  grooves  is  missing.  Later  examples  of  these  sets  of  tables,  dating 
from  the  early  nineteenth  century,  have  stouter  legs  with  more  elaborate 
turning,  and  are  made  in  rosewood  ;  but  these  late  examples  are  not  by  any 
means  so  valuable  as  the  earlier  ones  in  mahogany. 

108 


A  satinwood  Armchair,  with  painted  decoration.  One  of  a  pair  of  Sidetables,  with  Batinwood  top  decorated 

Circa  1 780.  with  painting,  and  carved  and  gilt  underfraniing  and  legs. 

Circa  1780. 

ig.  102.  Col.  K.  Fig.  103.  Col.  K 


A  mahogany  Sidetable,  designed  by  Robert  Adam. 
Circa  1770. 

Fig.  105.  Col.  H. 


SIDE  TABLES 


The  urn  table  of  this  period  has  the  top  either  oval,  square,  or  serpentine, 
supported  sometimes  by  tapered  legs  and  sometimes  by  turned  fluted  legs  ; 
and,  like  the  Pembroke  table,  though  usually  of  mahogany,  will  be  met  with 
occasionally  in  satinwood.  Of  the  numerous  other  small  tables  dating  from 
this  period  the  lady's  work  table,  which  is  found  of  varying  design,  and 
generally  in  satinwood,  may  be  mentioned.  Combined  dressing  and  writing 
tables  were  also  made  in  satinwood,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  century  a 
quantity  of  dainty  and  graceful  but  rather  effeminate  furniture  of  this  type 
must  have  been  made,  generally  in  satinwood,  with  inlaid  or  painted 
decoration,  but  sometimes  in  harewood. 

Side  Tables. — Side  tables  of  the  late  eighteenth  century  were  of  two 
kinds  :  in  mahogany  for  the  dining-room,  and  in  satinwood  for  the 
reception-room  or  salon.  The  best  example  of  the  mahogany  side  table  is 
that  with  the  serpentine-shaped  front,  the  frieze  generally  being  decorated 
with  fluting  on  either  side  of  a  centre  plaque,  and  the  legs  being  tapered 
and  either  plain  or  fluted.  The  plaque  was  sometimes  ornamented  with  a 
carved  design  representing  an  urn  or  swags  of  drapery,  in  the  classical  taste. 
More  often  these  side  tables,  which  were  invariably  fitted  with  mahogany 
tops,  are  found  with  straight  or  bow  fronts.  A  fine  example  of  a  mahogany 
side  table  of  this  period,  after  the  design  of  Robert  Adam,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  105.  Adam,  in  his  tables,  favoured  the  marble  or  scagliola  rather 
than  the  wooden  top.  These  scagliola  tops  were  of  composition  of  Italian 
invention,  which  Adam  introduced  into  this  country,  and  were  made  in 
various  colours  decorated  with  designs,  sometimes  floral  or  geometrical  and 
sometimes  with  heraldic  devices.  Spurious  side  tables  are  often  made  by  the 
imitator  from  a  type  of  mahogany  side  table  of  the  early  Victorian  period, 
which  generally  has  a  straight  front  and  rounded  corners  with  a  plain  frieze 
and  heavy  turned  legs  ;  but  by  converting  the  heavy  legs  into  carved  and 
tapered  ones,  altering  the  mouldings  to  the  frieze  and  adding  a  carved  centre 
plaque  in  the  middle,  a  fictitious  example  of  a  late  eighteenth  century  side 
table  is  obtained.  These  spurious  tables,  however,  are  generally  much  larger 
and  longer  than  the  genuine  ones,  and  the  top  with  the  rounded  corners  will 
never  be  found  on  the  late  eighteenth  century  table. 

Satinwood  side  tables  of  a  small  size  are  generally  found  to-day  in 
pairs,  half-circular  in  shape,  and  fine  examples  are  either  decorated  with 
elaborate  inlaid  designs,  sometimes  depicting  medallions  and  musical 
instruments,  or  painted  similar  to  the  example  illustrated,  Fig.  103.  The 

109 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


more  common  type  of  half-circular  side  table  is  either  in  mahogany  or 
satinwood,  the  latter  being  decorated  with  tulip  wood  banding  ;  but  this 
type  of  table  is  of  little  value  to-day,  single  examples  being  especially 
common. 

Dining  Tables. — During  the  last  twenty  years  of  this  period  long 
dining  tables1  were  made  like  that  shown  in  Fig.  iii.  Large  numbers  of 
this  variety  of  table  are  found,  the  ends  being  semicircular  or  D-shaped  and 
the  middle  part  composed  of  three  leaves,  supported  by  tapered  legs  which 
pull  out.  Tables  of  a  large  size  were  composed  of  two  centre  parts  and  extra 
leaves. 

Subsequently,  as  with  other  furniture,  the  tapered  legs  gave  place  to  the 
turned  legs  ;  and  contemporary  with  the  latter  are  the  extending  tables  on 
tripods,  the  curved  legs  of  which  terminate  in  cast  brass  caps  with  castors, 
sometimes  in  the  design  of  a  lion's  paw,  and  the  edges  of  the  tops  are  reeded. 
The  collector  should  be  careful  to  see  that  the  tops  of  these  tables  are  in  their 
original  condition,  and  that  they  have  not  been  French  polished,  particularly 
if  he  desires  the  top  not  to  be  easily  marked  or  scratched.  The  appearance 
of  the  undersides  of  the  leaves  should  also  be  scrutinised  to  see  that  new  ones 
have  not  been  added.  The  semicircular  end  tables  of  these  late  eighteenth 
century  mahogany  dining  tables  are  often  converted  into  satinwood  side 
tables  by  the  imitator,  who  veneers  their  tops  and  friezes  with  satinwood,  and 
either  veneers  their  legs  or  replaces  them  with  birch  or  satinwood  ones. 

Card  Tables. — The  design  of  the  card  table  in  this  period  reverted  to 
the  type  with  the  circular  top,  similar  to  the  Queen  Anne  walnut  card  tables, 
and  examples  of  high  quality  were  made  in  satinwood  or  harewood,  the 
former  having  their  tops  and  friezes  decorated  with  inlay  in  various  coloured 
woods,  and  the  legs  either  tapered  or  turned  and  fluted.  These  circular-top 
card  tables  are  often  found  to-day  in  pairs  ;  examples  in  mahogany  are  of 
little  value. 

Tripod  Furniture. — The  much-sought-after  carved  tripod  table  of  the 
early  and  middle  eighteenth  century  periods  became  in  this  period  more 

1  The  first  long  dining  table  dates  back  as  early  as  174O,  as  examples  are  extant  with  cabriole  legs 
ending  in  club  or  claw  and  ball  feet.  Unlike  the  late  eighteenth  century  examples,  these  earlier  tables  are 
composed  of  two  or  more  centre  tables  with  end  flaps  of  a  square  or  oval  shape,  and  not  separate  end  tables 
as  in  the  late  eighteenth  century  example  illustrated. 

I  IO 


SOFA  TABLES— COMMODES— SIDEBOARDS 


dainty  and  French  in  feeling,  the  feet  ending  in  scroll  toes.  The  Pembroke 
table  took  the  place  of  the  tripod  table  at  this  time,  but  fire  screens  on  tripod 
feet  still  continued  to  be  made,  although  much  lighter  and  more  delicate  in 
design,  and  to-day  are  sometimes  found  in  pairs,  the  screen  being  generally 
oval  or  heart-shaped.  About  1800  the  legs  of  these  tripod  screens  became 
curved,  and,  in  the  early  nineteenth  century,  these  were  again  superseded 
by  a  triangular  platform. 

Sofa  Tables. — About  1790,  a  new  form  of  table  known  as  the  sofa 
table  was  introduced.  Early  examples  are  generally  in  mahogany  and, 
rarely,  in  satinwood,  and  have  curved  legs  connected  by  an  arched  stretcher. 
Later  examples,  of  about  1825,  are  found  in  rosewood,  with  heavy  legs 
decorated  with  coarse  carving  ;  these  are  of  considerably  less  value  and 
interest. 

Commodes. — The  commode  of  this  period  is  generally  found  in  satin- 
wood,  or  satinwood  and  harewood,  of  semicircular  shape  similar  to  the  two 
fine  examples  illustrated  (Figs.  106  and  107).  Besides  this  type  of  commode 
another  variety  was  made  of  serpentine  form,  following  more  closely  the  lines 
of  the  contemporary  French  article.  The  commodes  of  this  period  were 
made  essentially  for  the  wealthy,  and,  therefore,  most  of  the  existing  examples 
are  of  the  highest  quality  of  workmanship,  decorated  with  inlay  of  choice 
woods  or  with  painted  decoration.  The  serpentine-fronted  commodes,  how- 
ever, are  generally  found  decorated  with  inlay  and  not  with  painting,  and 
their  similarity  to  the  French  example  is  accentuated  by  the  use  of  chased 
and  gilt  metal  mounts. 

When  the  imitator  comes  across  plain  and  undecorated  examples  of  these 
commodes  he  will  enhance  their  present-day  value  by  either  decorating  their 
surfaces  with  new  inlay  or  with  painting.  He  seldom  makes  imitations  of 
entirely  new  construction,  owing  to  the  skill  required  and  the  high  cost  of 
making  the  semicircular  or  serpentine  fronts.  Generally  his  imitations  have 
straight  fronts  with  concave  corners,  thus  considerably  lessening  the  cost  of 
production. 

Sideboards. — The  sideboard  was  first  made  about  the  middle  of  this 
period,  prior  to  which  a  side  table,  flanked  by  a  pair  of  pedestals,  surmounted 
by  urns,  was  used  in  the  dining-room.  Fine  examples  of  these  side  tables 
with  urns,  designed  by  Robert  Adam,  are  elaborately  inlaid  with  various 

1 1 1 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


choice  woods,  and  further  enhanced  by  chased  and  gilt  metal  mounts.  The 
sideboard  was  evolved  by  joining  up  the  pedestals  to  the  side  table,  and  some 
early  sideboards,  of  about  1775,  show  the  side  table  in  the  middle  with  the 
pedestals  attached  to  it.  This  transitional  type  afterwards  developed  into  the 
sideboard  on  legs. 

Many  spurious  copies  of  the  side  table  with  a  pair  of  pedestals  and  urns 
have  been  made,  sometimes  of  new  construction,  sometimes  in  the  form  of 
plain  examples  decorated  with  applied  carving  in  low  relief,  of  swags  of 
drapery,  honeysuckle,  and  paterae  in  imitation  of  a  few  rare  examples  of 
this  type,  extant  to-day,  designed  by  Robert  Adam  in  his  early  period. 
When  the  collector  meets  with  this  type  of  side  table  and  pedestals,  elaborately 
decorated  with  applied  carving,  he  should  remember  the  great  rarity  of  the 
original  examples.  The  notes  on  spurious  mahogany  carving  given  in  the 
former  chapters  will  be  found  of  use  for  detecting  these  spurious  tables  and 
pedestals. 

The  sideboards  that  the  collector  is  most  likely  to  meet  with  are  usually 
called  "  Sheraton,"  without  any  justification,  however,  as  these  sideboards 
were  made  by  all  the  principal  cabinetmakers  for  about  ten  years  before 
Thomas  Sheraton  became  known.  They  are  invariably  found  in  mahogany 
and  vary  in  size  from  4  ft.  to  9  or  10  ft.  in  length  ;  a  good  example  of  a 
sideboard  of  this  period  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  1 10.  The  difference  in  the 
design  of  these  sideboards  is  mainly  in  the  shape  of  the  front.  The  bow 
front  is  the  most  common,  but  the  rarest  examples  have  a  serpentine  front. 
The  early  sideboards  were  very  seldom  made  with  the  straight  front,  and 
most  of  those  extant  in  this  shape  date  from  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  are  generally  of  poor  quality.  Sideboards  of  semicircular  shape 
were  also  made  in  this  period.  The  serpentine  and  bow-fronted  pieces 
generally  have  the  tapered  legs  and  spade  toes  of  the  late  eighteenth  century, 
and  some  are  found  with  the  original  brass  rail  on  the  back  from  which  a 
curtain  was  hung,  although  large  numbers  must  have  been  made  without 
this  curtain  rail  attachment.  The  collector,  in  purchasing  a  sideboard, 
should  be  guided  by  the  quality  of  the  workmanship  and  note  whether  the 
mahogany  veneer  used  for  the  top  and  drawer  fronts  has  a  finely  marked 
figure.  The  best  examples  have  cross-banded  edges  of  tulip  wood  around 
the  top  and  drawer  fronts,  similar  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  110,  and  the 
drawers  should  be  oak  lined,  denoting  that  the  piece  was  originally  one  of 
good  workmanship. 

A  serpentine  front  per  se  is  considered  of  greater  value  than  the  bow 

1 1 2 


An  inlaid  satinwood  Dressing  Table. 
Circa  I  800. 

Fig.  108.  Col.  Q. 


A  half-circular  painted  and  gilt  Sidetable,  top  decorated  with  painted 
design  on  copper. 
Circa  1775. 

Fig-  109.  Col.  H. 


SIDEBOARDS— BEDROOM  FURNITURE 


front  ;  but  a  high  quality  sideboard  of  the  latter  kind  is  to  be  preferred  to 
a  poorly  made  piece  with  a  serpentine  one.  The  smaller  sideboards, 
measuring  about  4  ft.  in  width,  are  more  valuable  to-day  than  the  larger 
ones,  the  reason  being  that  they  fulfil  to-day  the  popular  demand  for 
dressing  tables.  The  tapered  legs  of  sideboards,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  like  those  of  chairs  and  tables,  were  superseded  by  the 
round  turned  legs,  and  sideboards  with  these  legs  are  accounted  to-day  less 
valuable,  although,  with  the  exception  of  the  legs,  they  are  similar  in  all 
respects  to  the  earlier  examples.  The  imitator,  therefore,  to  make  these 
late  sideboards  more  saleable,  cuts  off  the  round  legs  and  fixes  tapered  ones 
on  to  the  stumps.  In  purchasing  sideboards,  therefore,  the  collector  should 
examine  the  legs  where  they  join  the  carcase  to  make  sure  that  this 
substitution  has  not  been  carried  out. 

Bedroom  Furniture. — A  large  quantity  of  mahogany  furniture,  such 
as  gentlemen's  wardrobes,  wing  wardrobes,  chests-with-drawers,  tallboys, 
bedside  cupboards,  and  toilet  glasses  are  extant  to-day,  dating  from  this 
period.  In  purchasing  this  type  of  furniture  the  collector  should  endeavour 
to  buy  pieces  of  good  quality  and  with  their  original  surface  condition. 
The  latter  attribute,  however,  is  rare,  as  the  majority  of  this  class  of  furni- 
ture, as  already  stated,  has  had  its  patina  destroyed  by  the  French  polisher. 

Satinwood  was  not  often  used  for  bedroom  furniture,  and  particularly 
rarely  for  large  pieces,  such  as  wardrobes.  A  quantity  of  bedroom  furniture, 
however,  was  made  of  softwood,  generally  painted  with  a  cream  ground, 
with  enrichments  and  mouldings  picked  out  in  another  colour.  A  bedroom 
suite  of  this  description,  to  be  seen  at  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  was 
made  for  David  Garrick  by  Chippendale  &  Haig,  and  is  authenticated  by 
the  original  invoice  preserved  with  it.  Although  a  large  quantity  of  this 
type  of  painted  furniture,  generally  of  beech,  must  have  been  made  origin- 
ally, examples  are  not  often  met  with  to-day,  as,  owing  to  its  being  made  of 
softwood  and  painted,  a  great  quantity  has  not  survived  the  wear  and  tear 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  years. 

Dressing  tables  made  in  mahogany,  with  folding  top,  enclosing  a  mirror 
and  small  boxes  and  compartments  for  toilet  necessaries,  were  also  made  in 
this  period  ;  and  fine  quality  chests-with-drawers  are  also  found  with  the  top 
drawer  fitted  in  a  similar  manner,  these  chests  generally  having  serpentine 
fronts  and  were  made  in  mahogary,  although  some  examples  are  met  with 
in  harewood. 

h  113 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


The  cheval  glass  was  first  introduced  in  the  late  eighteenth  century. 
The  earlier  specimens  of  about  1785  are  the  most  desirable,  having  mahogany 
square  supports  to  the  sides  and  a  glass  that  can  be  raised  and  lowered  as  well 
as  tilted.  These  early  cheval  glasses  are  small  ;  but  as  time  went  on  they 
became  larger,  the  side  supports  being  turned  instead  of  square,  until,  about 
1820  to  1830,  the  design  became  very  ugly  and  cumbersome.  Rare  early 
examples  have  carved  urns  as  finials  to  the  side  supports,  and  the  cross  rails 
are  ornamented  with  carving.    The  original  mirror  plate  was  always  bevelled. 


114 


CHAPTER  XI 


IRISH  FURNITURE 

FROM  the  point  of  view  of  the  collector  of  English  furniture,  a 
knowledge  of  Irish  furniture  is  of  importance,  in  that  it  will  prevent 
him  from  purchasing  pieces  of  Irish  origin  in  the  belief  that  they  are 
English.  He  should,  therefore,  make  himself  familiar  with  the  peculiarities 
of  Irish  design,  so  that  the  recognition  of  examples  will  be  easy. 

Furniture  distinctively  classed  as  "  Irish  "  would  appear  to  date  from 
1725  to  1755,  and  from  its  design  it  would  seem  to  be  the  work  of  craftsmen 
who  were  combining  the  design  of  contemporary  English  furniture  with 
certain  native  characteristics.  In  their  furniture  of  about  1735  they  appear 
to  have  copied  the  design  of  English  furniture  of  about  1725  ;  in  fact,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  Irish  furniture  of  this  period  is  a  decade  later  in  design  than 
the  English.1  It  is  the  heavy  appearance,  superfluity  of  carved  ornament, 
and  absence  of  elegant  and  graceful  lines  that  make  its  present-day  apprecia- 
tion and  value  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  contemporary  English 
furniture. 

The  following  remarks  describing  a  few  characteristics  of  Irish  furniture 
will  be  found  of  use  to  the  collector  for  the  recognition  of  Irish  examples  : 

1.  This  early  furniture  was  made  of  Spanish  or  San  Domingo  mahogany 
and  is  very  dark  in  colour,  sometimes  approaching  to  a  black  tone. 

2.  The  carving  is  in  low  relief  and  its  background  is  often  decorated 
with  an  incised  diamond  pattern  (Fig.  113),  or  sometimes  with  a  punched 
design  (Fig.  116). 

3.  The  cabriole  legs  usually  terminate  with  a  square  paw  foot  (Fig.  1 12), 
which  is  often  found  with  a  kind  of  decorated  hock  just  above  the  paw 
(Fig.  112).  If  the  cabriole  leg  is  terminated  with  a  claw  and  ball  foot  the 
claw  will  invariably  be  webbed  (Fig.  116). 

4.  The  cabriole  legs  of  chairs,  stools,  stands,  and  side  tables  will  invariably 
be  connected  by  a  deep  apron  piece  under  the  frieze  (Figs.  113,  114,  and  115). 

1  The  Irish  table  (Fig.  113)  has  a  combination  of  the  lion  paw  foot  and  the  maslc  head  found  on  English 
tables  of  about  1730,  and  the  rococo  scrolls  on  the  apron  characteristic  of  English  design  of  about  1745. 

ll5 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


5.  Side  tables  will  always  have  tops  of  mahogany  with  plain  moulded 
edges  (Fig.  1 13),  and  seldom  of  marble  like  the  contemporary  English  tables. 

6.  One  of  the  favourite  motifs  of  ornament  is  the  escallop  shell  (Fig. 
1 16),  undoubtedly  adapted  from  the  shell  so  often  found  on  English  furniture 
of  the  early  eighteenth  century. 

7.  Other  favourite  motifs  of  ornament  are  the  satyr  or  grotesque  masks, 
which  will  be  found  on  pieces  of  high  quality. 

8.  Cabinets,  linen  chests,  bureaux,  and  wardrobes  are  often  found 
mounted  on  stands  with  cabriole  legs. 

9.  The  articles  that  are  extant  to-day  in  the  greatest  number  are  side 
tables  with  cabriole  legs,  and  linen  chests  on  stands. 

10.  Chairs  are  often  found  with  their  backs  and  seat  rails  of  oak,  over- 
laid with  mahogany  veneer,  and  chairs  with  cabriole  legs  were  often  designed 
with  stretchers. 

All  the  above  characteristics  are  peculiar  to  Irish  furniture  from  about 
1725  to  1 75 5.1  After  this  date  the  furniture  of  England  and  Ireland  became 
more  standardised  as  the  Irish  cabinetmakers  were  influenced  by  the  trade 
catalogues  of  English  cabinetmakers,  such  as  Thomas  Chippendale,  although 
the  Irish  craftsmen  still  favoured  native  features  of  design  and  certain  articles 
of  furniture.  Satinwood  and  painted  beech  furniture  appear  to  have  been 
specially  popular  in  Ireland  in  the  late  eighteenth  century. 

The  amount  of  Irish  furniture  of  fine  quality  that  survived  from  the  Oak 
and  Walnut  periods  is  so  negligible  that  it  demands  no  consideration  from 
the  collector.  This  was,  doubtless,  due  to  the  fact  that  Ireland  was  in  a  very 
troubled  and  unsettled  state,  and  governed  solely  by  military  occupation. 
There  was,  therefore,  no  resident  nobility  to  encourage  a  native  industry  in 
furniture  for  the  decoration  and  equipment  of  their  houses.  It  was  not  until 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  country  became  more  settled, 
and  not  until  the  end  of  it,  when  the  independence  of  the  Irish  Parliament 
was  established,  that  the  presence  of  legislators  in  Dublin  led  to  social  con- 
ditions conducive  to  the  growth  of  the  applied  and  domestic  arts. 

1  This  early  Irish  mahogany  furniture  is  often  called  "  Irish  Chippendale,"  presumably  because  it  has  the 
cabriole  leg  and  claw  and  ball  foot  which,  in  English  furniture,  is  similarly  wrongly  attributed  to  the  design  and 
influence  of  Thomas  Chippendale. 


Il6 


An  Irish  mahogany  Card  Table,  with  typical  paw  foot. 
Circa  1 74O. 

Fig.  1  1  2.  Col.  .1. 


An  Irish  mahogany  Sick-table,  showing  typical  diamond  pattern  design  to 
background  ol  carving. 
Circa  1755. 

Fig.  113.  Col.  H. 


CHAPTER  XII 


CONTINENTAL  FURNITURE  COMPARED 

TO  ENGLISH 

FREQUENT  mention  has  been  made  of  the  way  English  furniture 
design  was  influenced  by  that  of  other  nations,  and  this  in  many  cases 
has  naturally  resulted  in  a  strong  resemblance  between  English  and 
Continental  furniture.  Where  this  resemblance  is  of  importance  is  that  the 
collector  may  mistake  pieces  of  foreign  origin  for  English,  and  this,  like  the 
purchase  of  Irish  furniture,  would  result  in  most  cases  in  his  paying  greatly 
in  excess  of  their  real  value,  as  most  Continental  pieces,  with  the  exception 
of  the  French,  are  in  no  way  as  valuable  as  English. 

The  above  remarks  are  made  not  to  discourage  the  purchase  of  Conti- 
nental furniture,  but  to  act  as  a  warning  to  the  collector  that  a  certain 
knowledge  of  the  design  and  workmanship  of  furniture  of  foreign  origin  is 
necessary  should  he  wish  to  avoid  making  mistakes.  The  Dutch  furniture 
is  the  most  important  in  this  respect,  as  not  only  does  it  bear  a  stronger 
resemblance  to  the  English  than  that  of  other  countries,  but  there  is  a  large 
quantity  of  it  in  England,  as  within  recent  years  it  has  been  imported  to 
supply  the  demand  for  old  English  furniture. 

The  Dutch  examples  that  may  be  bought  by  the  uninitiated  in  mistake 
for  English  will  be  found  in  oak,  walnut,  marquetry,  mahogany,  and  satin- 
wood.  The  chief  article  in  oak  is  the  drawer-top  table  with  bulbous  legs  ; 
the  Dutch  example,  however,  in  comparison  with  the  English,  is  smaller 
and  shorter  and  the  bulbous  legs  are  melon-shaped  and  narrow-necked  ;  they 
are  generally  found  quite  plain,  with  no  carved  decoration. 

The  Dutch  marquetry  furniture,  which  generally  takes  the  form  of 
wardrobes,  bureaux,  and  chairs,  exists  in  England  in  large  quantities  ;  the 
marquetry  is  very  coarsely  executed,  invariably  of  a  design  of  flowers  and 
birds  into  which  ivory  inlay  is  often  introduced.  Marquetry  chairs,  some- 
times with  carved  crestings  to  the  backs,  are  entirely  decorated  with  inlay 
on  the  back,  seat-rail,  and  front  legs.  English  marquetry  chairs  of  this 
description  were  never  made,  as  the  inlay  was  confined  to  small  panels  on  the 

117 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


splats  and  the  knees  of  the  legs.  The  Dutch  marquetry  centre  table  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  Chapter  IV. 

Dutch  furniture  in  mahogany  is  also  frequently  met  with,  and  the 
large  wardrobe,  similar  in  form  to  the  gentleman's  wardrobe  of  the  late 
eighteenth  century,  has  often  been  mistaken  by  the  unwary  for  a  piece  of 
"  Chippendale."  Its  dimensions,  however,  are  generally  much  larger,  and 
the  panels  in  the  doors  of  the  upper  part  are  invariably  decorated  with 
carved  ribbons,  urns,  and  swags,  also  medallions  with  cameo  heads.  The 
corners  of  bureaux,  wardrobes,  and  cabinets  are  usually  canted,  and  sometimes 
decorated  by  columns  with  Corinthian  caps  in  brass  ;  and  these  pieces  are 
frequently  surmounted  by  a  broken  pediment  centred  by  a  large  carved  urn, 
decorated  with  bay  or  laurel  leaves.  The  lower  part  is  often  shaped  with  a 
swelled  or  bombe  front. 

In  satinwood  furniture  there  are  a  large  number  of  bureaux  and  chests- 
with-drawers  ;  also  a  type  of  cupboard,  with  drawer  above,  on  short  tapered 
legs  ;  and  the  secretaire  with  let-down  front.  A  favourite  motif  of 
decoration  for  these  satinwood  pieces  is  a  large  inlaid  shell,  similar  to  the 
inlaid  shell  found  on  late  eighteenth  century  examples.  In  this  satinwood 
furniture  the  dentil,  which  was  another  favourite  motif  of  decoration,  was 
often  inlaid,  and  is  not  only  found  on  the  cornices  of  tall  articles  such  as 
cabinets  and  wardrobes,  but  also  under  the  edge  of  the  top  of  low  pieces  such 
as  the  cupboard  described  above. 

This  mahogany  and  satinwood  furniture  is  of  high  quality  workmanship, 
veneered  respectively  with  fine-figured  mahogany  and  East  Indian  satinwood  ; 
the  drawers  are  generally  oak  lined,  but  differ  in  one  respect  from  the 
English  drawers,  as  their  sides  will  be  found  nailed  to  the  backs  instead  of 
dovetailed.  The  doors  will  not  have  hinges,  but  will  be  hung  on  pivots. 
These  pivot-hung  doors  are  never  found  on  English  examples  in  mahogany 
and  satinwood,  but  doors  of  English  walnut  pieces  are  sometimes  found  hung 
in  this  manner.  This  denotes  Dutch  workmanship,  which  is  accounted  for 
by  the  large  number  of  craftsmen  from  Holland  working  in  England  at  this 
period. 

Besides  this  Dutch  furniture,  a  small  quantity  of  Portuguese  furniture, 
mostly  chairs  and  settees,  which  have  cabriole  legs  and  claw  and  ball  feet,  is 
to  be  met  with  in  England  ;  examples  of  this,  however,  are  of  very  poor 
quality,  decorated  with  coarsely  executed  carving,  and  are  cramped  and 
stilted  in  form.  They  bear  a  closer  resemblance  to  the  Irish  furniture  of 
this  type  than  to  the  English. 

118 


CHRONOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


453.  Capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  and  flight  of  the  Greeks  to  Italy. 

485.    Accession  of  Henry  vn. 

496.  Magna  Intercursus — Free  Trade  treaty  with  the  Netherlands. 

509.    Accession  of  Henry  vin. 

538.  Larger  Monasteries  suppressed  :    workmen  of  Ecclesiastical  Building 

Guilds  took  up  secular  work. 
547.    Accession  of  Edward  vi. 
553.    Accession  of  Mary. 
558.    Accession  of  Elizabeth. 

570.  John  Thorpe,  Earliest  Renaissance  Architect,  commenced  building  of 

Kirby  Hall,  Northants. 

572.  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  and  flight  of  Huguenots  from  France. 

573.  Inigo  Jones,  Architect,  born. 

580.  Collection  of  designs  for  furniture,  gardens,  fountains,  etc.,  published  by 

Hans  Vredeman  de  Vries. 

581.  The  Turkey  Company  received  a  Charter  for  trading  in  the  Levant. 
598.  Edict  of  Nantes,  securing  liberty  and  property  to  the  Huguenots. 
600.          The  East  India  Company  received  its  Charter. 

603.    Accession  of  James  1. 
625.    Accession  of  Charles  1. 

632.  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  Architect,  born. 

648.  Grinling  Gibbons,  Carver,  born  in  Holland. 

649.  Charles  1.  executed  and  Commonwealth  established. 
651.  Inigo  Jones,  Architect,  died. 

660.    Accession  of  Charles  11. 

Beginning  of  Dutch  and  French  influence.    Walnut  chairs,  day- 
beds,  AND  STOOLS  CAME  INTO  FASHION. 

675.  Veneered  Walnut  and  Marquetry  furniture  came  into  fashion. 

Lacquered  furniture  came  into  fashion. 

684.  William  Kent,  Architect  and  Designer,  born. 

685.  Revocation  of  Edict  of  Nantes  and  emigration  of  Huguenot  workmen 

to  Holland  and  England. 
Accession  of  James  11. 

688.  Treatise  on  Japanning  and  Varnishing,  by  Stalker  and  Parker,  published. 

689.  Accession  of  William  in.  and  Mary. 

695.  Gilt  Gesso  furniture  came  into  fashion. 

119 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


1696.  Batty  Langley,  Architect  and  Designer,  born. 

1 702.    Accession  of  Queen  Anne. 
1 7 14.    Accession  of  George  1. 

1 7 17.  Thomas  Chippendale,  Cabinetmaker,  born. 

1720.  Mahogany  furniture  began  to  be  made. 

1 72 1.  Grinling  Gibbons,  Carver,  died. 
1723.           Sir  Christopher  Wren,  Architect,  died. 

1726.  Sir  William  Chambers,  Architect,  born. 

1727.  Accession  of  George  11. 

1728.  Robert  Adam,  Architect  and  Designer,  born. 

1730.  Design  of  furniture  influenced  by  classical  revival  of  William 

Kent  and  other  Architect-Designers. 
1733.  Repeal  of  duty  on  imported  timber. 

1736.  Practical  Architecture,  by  William  Halfpenny,  published. 

1739.  Gentlemen  s  or  Builders'  Companion,  by  William  Jones,  published,  contain- 

ing designs  for  pier  glasses,  slab  tables,  chimney-pieces,  etc. 
Treasury  of  Designs,  by  Batty  and  Thomas  Langley,  published. 
1 74 1.  Angelica  KaufFmann  born  in  Italy. 

1743.  Design  of  furniture  influenced  by  French  taste. 

1745.  Design  of  furniture  influenced  by  the  Chinese  and  Gothic  tastes. 

1748.  William  Kent,  Architect  and  Designer,  died. 

175 1.  Thomas  Sheraton,  Designer,  born. 

1752.  The  Country   Gentlemen  s  Pocket  Companion  and  Builders    Assistant  for 

Decorative  Architecture,  by  William  and  John  Halfpenny,  published. 
Contained  designs  in  Chinese  and  Gothic  tastes. 
1754.  New  Book  of  Chinese  designs  by  Edwards  and  Darby,  published. 

The  Gentlemen  s  and  Cabinetmakers  Director,  by  Thomas  Chippendale,  pub- 
lished.   Second  edition,  1759,  and  third  and  enlarged  edition,  1764. 

1757.  Book  of  Chinese  designs  by  Sir  William  Chambers,  published. 

1758.  Robert  Adam  commenced  practice  as  an  Architect  in  London,  in  partner- 

ship with  his  brother  James  Adam. 
Book  of  designs  for  picture  frames,  candelabra,  etc.,  by  Thomas  Johnson, 
Carver,  published.    Second  edition  with  150  new  designs  published, 
1 76 1 . 

1760.    Accession  of  George  in. 

1762.  Universal  System  of  Household  Furniture,  by  Ince  and  Mayhew,  published. 

1765.  Design  of  furniture  influenced  by  the  classical  revival  of  Robert 

and  James  Adam.    Satinwood  introduced  for  furniture-making. 
The  Cabinet  and  Chairmakers1  Real  Friend  and  Companion,  by  Robert 

Manwaring,  published. 
Angelica  KaufFmann  came  to  England. 
1768.  Book  of  furniture  designs  by  Lock  and  Copeland,  published. 


120 


CHRONOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


1769.  Thomas  Chippendale  entered  into  partnership,  the  style  of  the  firm  being 

given  on  invoices  as  Chippendale  &  Haig,  and  also  as  Chippendale, 
Haig,  &  Co. 

New  Book  of  pier  frames,  girandoles,  tables,  etc.,  by  Mathias  Lock, 
published. 

1772.  Robert  Gillow,  Cabinetmaker,  of  Oxford  Street,  London,  died. 

1778.  First  complete  portfolio  of  Architectural  designs,  by  R.  and  J.  Adam, 

published.  These  had  been  published  in  folios  since  1773.  A 
second  portfolio  was  published  in  1779,  and  a  third  in  1822. 

1779.  Thomas  Chippendale,  Cabinetmaker,  died. 

178 1.  Cipriani,  one  of  the  Artists  assisting  R.  and  J.  Adam,  died. 

Angelica  Kauffmann,  R.A.,  married  Antonio  Zucchi,  another  assistant  of 
R.  and  J.  Adam,  and  returned  to  Italy. 
1786.  George  Hepplewhite,  Cabinetmaker,  died. 

1788.  Cabinetmakers'  and    Upholsterers     Guide,    by  A.   Hepplewhite  &  Co., 

published. 

Designs  of  Household  Furniture,  by  T.  Shearer,  published. 

1790.  Thomas  Sheraton,  Furniture  Designer  and  Teacher  of  Drawing,  came 

to  London. 

1 79 1.  Cabinetmakers'  and  Upholsterers1  Drawing-Book,  by  Thomas  Sheraton, 

commenced  serial  publication  ;  completed  in  1794. 

1792.  Robert  Adam,  Architect  and  Designer,  died  and  was  buried  in  West- 

minster Abbey. 
1794.  James  Adam,  Architect  and  Designer,  died. 

1803.  The  Cabinet  Directory,  by  Thomas  Sheraton,  published. 

1806.  Thomas  Sheraton,  Furniture  Designer,  died. 

1807.  Household  Furniture  and  Interior  Decoration  (Empire  style),  by  Thomas 

Hope,  published. 


I  2 1 


INDEX 


Acid,  Nitric,  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
Adam,  James,  96. 

,,      mirror  frames,  68. 

„      Robert,  6,  69,  86,  96,  100,  107,  109,  112. 
,,         ,,       Artists  working  for,  roo. 
,,         ,,      as  a  designer  of  furniture,  97. 
„         „       Cabinetmakers   working   for,  97, 
107. 

,,         „      Influence  of,  on  late  eighteenth 

century  design,  97. 
„      R.  &  J.,  96. 

,,     side  tables  with  pedestals  and  urns,  112. 
,,        ,,      „     with  scagliola  tops,  109. 
„      style,  62,  97. 
,,      writing  tables,  107. 
American  walnut,  77. 
Ammonia  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
Animal  and  bird  motifs  in  carving,  40. 
Arabesque  carving  on  oak,  23. 

,,        marquetry  designs  on  oak,  23,  27. 
„  „  „       on  walnut,  39. 

Architectural  marquetry  designs  on  oak,  23. 

„         motifs  in  early  mahogany  furniture, 
75- 

Atmosphere.    Effect  of,  on  furniture,  3. 

Baluster  decoration.    Split,  on  oak,  23,  33. 
„      legs.    See  Legs — Baluster. 
„      supports.    Oak,  27. 

Banding.    Herring-bone  walnut,  42. 

Barber's  chair,  48. 

Bead.    Cock,  40. 
,,       joint  to  gate-leg  tables,  32. 

Beads  and  mouldings  to  drawer  fronts,  40. 

Bedroom  furniture.  Late  mahogany,  99,  113; 
Middle  mahogany,  94;  Painted,  113;  Painted 
beech,  113;  Satin  wood,  113;  Walnut,  84. 

Bedside  cupboards.    Late  mahogany,  113. 

Beech  bedroom  furniture.    Painted,  113. 


Beech  chairs  and  stools.   Painted,  45,  r  16  ;  Painted 
and  gilt,  106;  Upholstered,  28. 

Beeswax  and  turpentine  polish,  4,  12. 

Bevelling  on  old  mirror  plates,  71. 

Bookcases.     Dwarf,  109;   Early  mahogany,  80; 

Late  mahogany,  107  ;  Marquetry, 
50;  Pepys's,  43;  Secretaire,  107. 
„  Bureau.    See  Bureau  Bookcases. 

Bosses  on  oak  furniture,  23,  3* 

Boule,  68. 

Bow  fronts,  112. 

Bracket  foot,  94. 

Brussels  Earth.    Use  of,  as  colouring  agent,  15. 

Buckingham,  Duke  of,  his  mirror  plate  factory,  67. 

Buffets.    Oak,  26. 

Building  Guilds.    Ecclesiastical,  21. 

Bulbous  legs.    Oak,  30;  Dutch  oak,  117. 

,,      supports,  26,  27;  Spurious,  18,  27. 
Bureau  Bookcases.    Early  mahogany,  79  ;  Lacquer, 

56;   Marquetry,  49;   Middle  mahogany,  91; 

Walnut,  49. 

Bureaux.  Early  mahogany,  79 ;  Late  mahogany, 
106;  Lacquer,  56;  Marquetry,  50;  Middle 
mahogany,  91 ;  Satin  wood,  106;  Walnut,  48. 

Burr  walnut,  41. 

Cabinet  stands.    Carved  gilt  and  silvered  lacquer, 

55.  57.  61,  66. 
Cabinets.    China.    See  China  Cabinets. 

,,        Colouring  interiors  of  spurious,  15. 

,,         Early  mahogany,  80,  91. 

,,        Lacquer,  on  stands,  55. 

„         Marquetry,  50. 

,,        Painted,  100. 

,,        Writing.    See  Writing  Cabinets. 
Cabriole  legs.    See  Legs — Cabriole. 
Candle-stands.    Gilt  and  Gesso,  62. 

,,  Tripod,  82. 

Cane  backs  and  seats,  35,  38. 


122 


INDEX 


Carcases  for  veneered  furniture.    Cedar,  102. 
„      for  mahogany  veneer,  88. 
„      for  satin  wood  veneer,  10 1. 
„      for  walnut  veneer,  41. 
Card  tables.    See  Tables — Card. 
"Carlton"  writing  tables,  107. 
Carved  and  gilt  furniture,  62. 
Carved  and  gilt  mirror  frames,  68. 
"Carved-up"  spurious  pieces,  16;  Oak,  23,  30,  32, 
33;  Mahogany,  77,  79,  80,  81,  83;  Walnut,  47. 
Carving,  9. 

„     Animal  and  bird  motifs  for,  40. 

„     Arabesque,  on  oak,  23. 

„     Incised,  on  oak,  23. 

„     on  Dutch  furniture,  118. 

,,     on  Irish  furniture,  115. 

„     on  late  mahogany  furniture,  100. 

,,     on  middle  mahogany  furniture,  88. 

,,     on  oak  furniture,  23. 

„      on  Portuguese  furniture,  1 18. 

„     on   spurious   furniture.    Appearance  of 

wear  in,  16. 
,,     on  walnut  furniture,  38,  40. 
Caryatid  figures.    Oak,  26. 
Cedar  carcases  for  veneered  pieces,  102. 
Chair-back  Settees.    See  Settees — Chair-back. 
Chairs.    Barber's,  48. 
„       Beech  painted,  45. 
»  „       >.        and  gilt,  106. 

„  „    upholstered,  28. 

„        Derbyshire  oak,  28. 
„        Dutch  marquetry,  117. 
„        Early  mahogany,  78. 
„        English  marquetry,  117. 
„        Gesso  and  gilt,  62. 
,,        "  Hepplewhite,"  105. 
„        Hogarth,  40. 
„        Hoop-back,  47,  74,  75. 

Irish,  115. 
,,        Lacquer,  56. 
„        Late  mahogany,  105. 
,,        Middle  mahogany,  89. 
,,        Oak,  20,  27. 
„       Oval-back,  105. 
,,        Ribbon-back,  90. 
„       Satinwood,  106. 


Chairs.    "Sheraton,"  105. 

,,        Shield-back,  105. 

„       Walnut,  35,  40,  45,  47. 

„        Yorkshire  oak,  28. 
Character  and  individuality  in  pieces,  8. 
Characteristics  of  Irish  furniture,  115. 
Chests  and  coffers.    Oak,  32. 
Chests-with-drawers.    Early  mahogany,  84. 

11       „      „         Lacquer,  55. 

11       11      H         Late  mahogany,  113. 

11       >,      N         Marquetry,  52. 

n       H      ,,        Middle  mahogany,  94. 

»       i)      »        Walnut,  52. 
Chelsea  mirrors,  69. 
Cheval  glasses,  43,  99,  114. 

China  Cabinets.    Early  mahogany,  80;  Middle 

mahogany,  91  ;  Walnut,  50. 
Chinese  and  Gothic  tastes,  85. 

1,        H        n      ,,     Mirror  frames  in,  68. 
„     fret  decoration,  34,  87,  89,  90,  92,  93, 
94- 

Chippendale,  Thomas,  6,  56,  61,  85,  92,  97,  116. 
Chippendale  &  Haig,  107,  113. 
Chronological  Survey,  119. 
Cipriani,  100. 

Circular  convex  mirror,  68. 

Classes  of  spurious  furniture,  13. 

Claw  and  ball  foot.    See  Foot — Claw  and  Ball. 

Clocks.    Long  case.    Lacquer,  56 ;  Marquetry,  39. 

Club-foot.    See  Foot — Club. 

Cock  bead,  40. 

Coffers  and  chests.   Oak,  32. 

Coffin  or  joint  stools.   Oak,  29. 

Colour  and  patina,  2. 

,,     Imitation  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  14. 

„     of  early  mahogany  furniture,  76. 

,,     of  eighteenth  century  oak  furniture,  34. 

„     of  gilt  and  gesso  furniture,  65. 

„     of  lacquer  furniture,  57. 

,,     of  late  mahogany  furniture,  98. 

,,     of  middle  mahogany  furniture,  86. 

,,     of  oak  furniture,  20,  22. 

,,     of  satinwood  furniture,  98. 

„     of  walnut  furniture,  37. 

„     on  Gothic  oak  furniture,  21. 
Coloured  lacquer  furniture,  55. 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Colours  of  old  furniture.  Recipes  for  imitating,  15 
Commodes.    Middle  mahogany,  93 ;  Satinwood 

in  ;  Satinwood  and  harewood,  in. 
"Concertina  movement"  card  table,  52. 
Condition  of  old  furniture.    Present,  12. 

„       "  Untouched,"  2,  4. 
Console  tables.    Gilt,  62. 

Continental  furniture  compared  to  English,  117. 

Convex  circular  mirrors,  68. 

Copeland.    Lock  and,  85. 

Copper.    Painted  decoration  on,  100. 

Cost  as  a  factor  in  present  value.    Original,  6. 

Couches.    Late  mahogany,  105. 

Court  cupboards.    Oak,  26. 

Cracks  on  lacquer,  59. 

Cross-banding  in  veneer,  39. 

Cuban  mahogany,  76,  88. 

Cupboards.    Bedside,  113. 

,,  Court,  26. 

Dole,  25. 

,,  Late  mahogany,  113. 

Darley.  Edwards  and,  85. 
Dates  on  oak  furniture,  23. 
Day-beds.    Walnut,  35,  45. 

Daylight  examination  to  detect  spurious  furniture, 
19. 

Decline  of  gesso  and  gilt  furniture,  62. 

,,      of  lacquer  furniture,  56. 

,,      of  oak  furniture,  23. 

„      of  walnut  furniture,  36. 
Defective  furniture.    Undesirability  of  purchasing, 

12. 

Defects  through  shrinkage  of  wood,  9,  93. 
Dentil  decoration.    Inlaid,  118. 
Design.    Adam  school  of,  62. 

„        Factors  of  good,  7. 

,,        in  furniture.    Beginning  of  Renaissance, 
21. 

,,        of  spurious  furniture.    Errors  in,  17. 
,,      and  ornamentation  of  furniture — 

Early  mahogany,  74. 
„        ,,  ,,  Gilt  and  gesso,  62. 

Lacquer,  56. 

Late  mahogany,  97. 
„        ,,  „  Middle  mahogany,  87. 


Design  and  ornamentation  of  furniture — 

„        ,,  „  Mirrors,  68. 

,,       ,,  ,,  Oak,  22. 

„        ,,  ,,  Satinwood,  87. 

„       „  „  Walnut,  38. 

Detection  of  spurious  furniture.  Daylight  examina- 
tion for,  19. 

Devonshire  House.    Gilt  furniture  designed  for, 
62. 

de  Vries.    Hans  Vredemann,  22. 
Differences  between  English  and  Dutch  furniture, 

117. 

,,  „  „       and   Irish  furniture, 

"5- 

Dimensions.   Higher  proportionate  value  of  pieces 

of  small,  6. 
Dining  tables.    See  Tables — Dining. 
Dirtied  wax.    Use  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 
Dole  cupboards.    Oak,  25. 
Doors.    Pivot-hung,  in  furniture,  118. 
Dovetailing,  24. 

Drawer  fronts.    Beads  and  mouldings  to,  40. 
Drawers  in  furniture.    Late  mahogany,  101. 

,,       ,,       „         Middle  mahogany,  88. 

,,       ,,       ,,         Oak,  24. 

,,       ,,       ,,         Satinwood,  101. 
„         Walnut,  41. 

„      of  spurious  furniture.    Colouring,  15. 
Drawer-top  tables.    Oak,  30. 
Dressers,  33. 

Dressing  tables.    See  Tables — Dressing. 
Dutch  furniture  compared  with  English,  117. 

„     influence  on  walnut  furniture,  35,  36,  117. 

„     mahogany  wardrobes,  118. 

„     marquetry,  117. 

„  „         tables,  51,  118. 

Eagle  heads.  Carved  decoration  of,  36,  40,  48,  74. 
Early  Mahogany  Period.    Furniture  of  the,  74. 

„  ,,  ,,        Bookcases,  80. 

,,  „  ,,        Bureaux    and  bureau 

bookcases,  79. 

„  „  „        Cabinets,  80. 

,,  ,,  „        Candle-stands,  82. 

„  „  „        Carving  in,  76. 

„  „  „        Chairs,  78. 

24 


INDEX 


Early  Mahogany  Period.    Chests-with-drawers,  84. 
n  ,,  ,,         Design  and  ornamenta- 

tion, 74. 
Historical  survey  of,  74. 
Patina,  76. 

Pedestal  writing  tables, 

80. 
Settees,  78. 

Spurious    pieces.  See 

Spurious  furniture. 
Stools,  78. 
Tables.    Card,  81. 
,,         Dining,  81. 
„        Side,  81. 
Tripod,  82. 
Workmanship,  76. 
Earth.    Brussels,  Use  of,  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
Ecclesiastical  Building  Guilds,  21. 
Edwards  and  Darley,  85. 
"  Endive  "  marquetry,  39. 

English  furniture  compared  to  Continental,  117: 
to  Dutch,  117;  to  Irish,  115;  to  Portuguese. 
118. 

English  furniture  with  French  names,  99. 

„     lacquer,  54. 
Escallop  shell  ornament,  40. 

Factors  of  good  design,  7. 
Faked  furniture.    See  Spurious  furniture. 

,,     metal  mounts  on  spurious  furniture,  18. 
Firescreens.    Early  mahogany  tripod,  82,  84. 
Flemish  influence  on  oak  furniture,  22. 
Floral  marquetry,  38,  117. 
Foot.    Bracket,  94. 

„       Claw  and  ball,  40,  47,  50,  78,  81,  82,  87, 
115,  116,  118. 

,,       Club,  40,  47,  8r,  108. 

„       Hoof,  40. 

„       Lion  paw,  43,  47,  71,  74,  110. 

„       Scroll  or  Whorl,  40,  87,  93,  in. 
Foreign  influence  on  furniture,  21,  117. 
Formation  of  patina,  3. 
Frames.    Mirror.    See  Mirror  frames. 
French  influence  on  late  mahogany  furniture,  96. 
French  polish,  4. 

„      Effectof,  38- 


French  polish.    Use  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 
polishing.    Depreciation  in  value  by,  5. 
„      rococo  mirror  frames,  68. 
„     taste,  85. 
Fret  decoration.    Chinese,  87  ;  Gothic,  88. 
„   galleries.    Shrinkage  in,  93. 
H        „         to  tables,  92. 
„   ornament.    Spurious,  89. 
Fronts.    Bow,  109,  112,  113. 

Moulded  oak,  83,  84. 
„        Serpentine,  94,  109,  in,  113. 
Furniture.    Atmospheric  effect  on,  3. 

Bedroom.    See  Bedroom  furniture. 
Beginning  of  Renaissance  design  in 
21. 

Best  polish  for  old,  12. 
„         Classes  of  spurious,  13. 

Continental,  compared  to  English,  1 1 7 
Dutch,  compared  to  English,  117. 
English,  with  French  names,  99. 
„         Gesso  and  gilt,  61,  99. 
„         Gilt  architectural,  62. 
„         Gothic  oak,  20. 

Imitation  of  colour  on  spurious,  14. 
Irish,  115. 
„         Jacobean  upholstered,  28. 
„         Lacquer,  54. 

„         Leather  upholstered  Puritan,  28. 
11         Oak,  20. 

„         of  the  early  Mahogany  period,  74. 

of  the  late  Mahogany  period,  96. 
,,         of  the  middle  Mahogany  period,  85. 
Period  of   highest  achievement 

English,  1. 
Portuguese  compared  to  English,  1 1 
Regilding,  63. 
11  Renaissance  oak,  21. 

,,         Satinwood,  98. 

Dutch,  118. 

Silver,  66. 
11         Silvered,  66. 

Spurious.    See  Spurious  furniture. 
„         Tripod.    See  Tripod  furniture. 

Walnut,  35. 
,,         Varnish  on  gesso,  62  ;  on  oak,  22  ; 
satinwood,  98  ;  on  walnut,  37. 

125 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Galleries.    Fret,  Shrinkage  in,  93. 

Fret  to  tables,  92. 
Garrick,  David.    Painted  furniture  for,  113. 
Gate-leg  tables.    See  Tables — Gate-leg. 
Gentlemen's  mahogany  wardrobes,  95,  113. 

„  „  „        Dutch,  118. 

Genuine   patina  as  safeguard   against  spurious 

impositions,  14. 
Gesso  and  gilt  furniture,  61. 
Gesso  furniture.    Colour  of,  62. 
„         ,,         Decline  of,  62. 
„  ,,  Existing  articles  in,  61. 

Patina  of,  65. 
„  „  Spurious.  See  Spurious  furniture. 

„     mirror  frames,  61,  68. 
,,     Varnish  on,  62. 
Gibbons,  Grinling,  10. 
Gilding  on  lacquer,  59. 

„      Painting  over  old,  63. 
Gillow,  the  Firm  of,  97. 
Gilt  and  carved  lacquer  cabinet  stands,  61. 
,,   furniture,  61,  99. 
,,        ,,       Architectural,  62. 
„         „       Colour  of,  63. 
11         h       Patina  of,  65. 
„        ,,       Spurious.    See  Spurious  furniture. 
Glasses.    Cheval,  43,  99,  114. 

,,        Toilet.    Late  mahogany,  113. 
Glue  in  oak  furniture.    Use  of,  23. 
Gothic  fret  decoration,  88. 
,,     oak  furniture,  20. 

taste,  85. 
,,        „     Mirror  frames  in,  68. 
Governing  factors  applying  to  old  furniture,  2. 
Grain  of  wood  in  spurious  furniture.    Open,  15. 
Grisaille  decoration  on  painted  furniture,  100. 
Guilds.    Ecclesiastical  Building,  21. 

Haig.    Chippendale  &,  107,  113. 
Harewood  and  satinwood  commodes,  109. 

,,        dressing  tables,  114. 

,,        veneer,  99. 
"  Harlequin  "  tables,  32. 
"  Hepplewhite  "  chairs,  105. 
Hepplewhite,  George,  97. 
Herring-bone  banding,  42. 


Historical  Survey.    Early  Mahogany  period,  74. 
„  „        Gesso  and  gilt  furniture,  61. 

„  ,,        Lacquer  furniture,  54. 

,,  ,,        Late  Mahogany  period,  96. 

„  ,,        Middle  Mahogany  period,  85. 

,,  ,,        Mirrors,  67. 

,,  „        Oak  period,  20. 

„  „        Walnut  period,  35. 

Hogarth  chairs,  40. 
Honduras  mahogany,  76,  88. 
Honeysuckle  ornament,  100. 
Hoof  or  scroll  foot,  40. 
Hoop-back  chairs,  47,  74,  75. 
Huguenot  craftsmen,  36. 
Hutches  and  dole  cupboards.    Oak,  25. 

Ince  and  Mayhew,  85,  87. 
Incised  carving  on  oak,  23. 
Individuality  and  character  in  pieces,  8. 
Imitation  of  colour  on  spurious  furniture,  14. 

„       of  patina  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 
Imported  timber.    Repeal  of  duty  on,  75. 
Influence.    Architectural,  on  furniture,  75,  86,  96. 
„  Dutch,  on  walnut  furniture,  35,  36,  117. 

„  Flemish,  on  oak  furniture,  22. 

„  French,  on  mahogany  furniture,  85. 

„  ,,      on    late  eighteenth  century 

furniture,  96,  98. 
„  „       on  walnut  furniture,  35,  36. 

Initial  tests  for  spurious  furniture,  18. 
Inlaid  dentil  decoration,  118. 
Inlay  on  mahogany,  101 ;  on  oak,  23,  24;  on 

satinwood,  10 1  ;  on  walnut,  42. 
Irish  furniture,  115. 

Carving  on,  115. 
„         „        Characteristics  of,  115. 
„        „       "  Chippendale,"  116. 
„        „       Differences  between,  and  English 
furniture,  115. 

Japanned  or  painted  furniture,  99. 
"Japanning,"  54. 
Johnson,  Thomas,  85. 
Joint.    Bead,  on  gate-leg  tables,  32. 
„      Mortise  and  tenon,  23. 
„      or  coffin  stools.    Oak,  29. 

126 


INDEX 


Kauffmann,  Angelica,  100. 
Kent,  William,  62,  75. 
Kingwood,  102. 
Knobbed  turning,  28. 

Lacquer.    Cabinets  on  stands,  55. 
Coloured,  55. 
Cracks  on,  59. 
English,  54. 
Furniture,  54. 

„         Existing  articles  of,  55. 
„        Revival  of,  56. 
Gilding  on,  59. 
Oriental,  54. 
Varnish  on,  57. 
Langley,  Batty,  10. 

Lascelles,  Edwin.  Writing  table  made  for,  107. 
Late  Mahogany  Period.    Bedroom  furniture,  99. 

,,         „  „        Bedside  cupboards,  113. 

„         „  „        Bookcases,  107. 

„  ,,  ,,        Carving  in,  100. 

„         ,,  „        Chairs,  105. 

,,  „  ,,        Chests-with-drawers,  1 1 3. 

„         ,,  „        Cheval  glasses,  1 14. 

„         „  „        Colour  of,  98. 

„         „  „        Couches,  105. 

„         „  „        Drawers,  10 1. 

,,  ,,  „        Historical  survey  of,  96. 

„         ,,  „        Patina  of,  98. 

,,         „  „        Pedestal  writing  tables, 

107. 

„         „  „        Pieces.  Reproductions 

of,  105. 

,,  ,,  ,,        Secretaire  bookcases, 

106. 

,,         „  „        Settees,  106. 

>>  11  11 

Sideboards,  109,  in. 
„         „  „        Spurious  pieces  of,  102. 

„         „  „        Tables.    Card,  no. 

11         11  ii  ,,        Dressing,  113. 

1,         11  ,,  ,,        Pembroke,  108. 

11         11  I,  ,,        Side,  109. 

11         11  ii  11        Sofa,  109. 

11         ii  11  „        Spider-leg,  108. 

11         ii  n  ,1        Tea,  108. 

11  ,,        Tallboys,  113. 


Late  Mahogany  Period.    Toilet  glasses,  113. 
,,         H  „        Tripod  furniture,  113. 

11         n  ii        Veneer,  99. 

„         H  H  ,,      Carcases  for,  107. 

„  ,,  „        Wardrobes,  113. 

Legitimate  reproduction  of  old  furniture,  13. 
Legs.    Baluster,  in  oak,  26,  30,  33  ;  in  walnut  and 
marquetry,  38,  39,  42,  51. 
„      Bulbous,  30. 
„  „       Dutch,  117. 

„      Cabriole.  Marquetry  and  walnut,  34,  40,  47, 
5°i  52>  53;  Lacquer,  55,  58;  Gesso  and 
gilt,  61;   Mahogany,  81,  82,  87,  89; 
Mahogany  (French),  89,  90;  Irish,  115, 
116;  Dutch,  1 18  j  Portuguese,  118. 
„      Double  scroll,  50. 
,,      Knobbed  turned,  28. 
„      Spiral  twist,  in  oak,  30,  31,  33,  47;  in 

walnut,  38,  39,  42,  45,  51. 
„      Straight,  87. 
„      Tapered,  105,  108,  109,  113. 
„      Turned,  105,  113. 
„      Turned  cupped,  43. 
,,      Turned  fluted,  106,  108,  109. 
Lime.    Use  of,  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
Linen-fold  panel,  22. 
Linseed  oil  polish,  3,  22,  76. 
Linseed  oil.    U$e  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 
Lion  mask  on  walnut,  36,  40,  43,  47,  53,  58,  62 ; 

on  mahogany,  74,  78,  81,  82. 
Lock  and  Copeland,  85. 
Long  case  clocks.    Lacquer,  56. 
11  i>        Marquetry,  39. 

Mahogany,  8. 

„        Cuban,  76,  88. 

,,        furniture  compared  with  walnut,  74. 

,,  „       Early  Period  of.     See  Early 

Mahogany  Period. 
„  „       Late   Period   of.    See  Late 

Mahogany  Period. 
„  „       Middle  Period  of.   See  Middle 

Mahogany  Period. 
„         Honduras,  76,  88. 
,,        Imitation   of  colour  of,  in  spurious 
furniture,  15. 

27 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Mahogany.  San  Domingo  or  Spanish,  76,  88,  115. 
„         Veneer,  88. 
„  „      Carcases  for,  88. 

Mansfield.    Wright  &,  105. 
Manwaring,  Robert,  85,  87. 
Marble  tops  to  side  tables,  62,  82. 
Marot,  Daniel,  36. 
Marquetry  bookcases,  50. 
cabinets,  50. 
chairs,  117. 

chests-with-drawers,  52. 
china  cabinets,  50. 

designs.  Arabesque,  23,  39 ;  Archi- 
tectural, 23  ;  "  Endive,"  39  ;  Floral, 
23»  36  ;  Geometrical,  23  ;  "  Seaweed," 
39- 

,,       Dutch,  117. 
„       Inlay  woods  for,  23,  42. 
„       long  case  clocks,  39. 
,,       mirror  frames,  67. 
„       on  oak,  23. 
,,       on  walnut,  36,  38. 
,,       side  tables,  51. 
„       tables.    Dutch,  51,  118. 
Masks,  Lion.    See  Lion  masks. 

„     Satyr.    See  Satyr  masks. 
Mastic  varnish  on  old  furniture,  5,  57. 
Mayhew,  Ince  and,  85,  87. 
Metal  mounts  on  furniture.    Gilt,  97,  107,  112. 

,,     work  on  spurious  furniture,  18. 
Middle  Mahogany  Period.   Bedroom  furniture,  94. 
„  „  ,,        Bureau  bookcases,  91. 

Bureaux,  91. 
Chairs,  89. 

,,  „  ,,  Chests-with-drawers, 

94. 

„  ,,  ,,        China  cabinets,  91. 

„  ,,  ,,        Colour  of  furniture  of, 

86. 

„  „  „        Commodes,  93. 

,,  „  ,,        Design  and  ornamenta- 

tion of,  87. 

„  „  „        French  influence  on, 

85- 

„  ,,  „        Furniture  of  the,  85. 

,,  ,,  „        Historical  survey  of,85. 

I 


Middle  Mahogany  Period.   Patina  on  furniture  of 

the,  86. 

,,  ,,  ,,        Spurious  furniture  of, 

89. 

,,  ,,  ,,        Tables.    Card,  93. 

„        .   „  „       Centre,  93. 

Dressing,  95. 
„  „  „  „      Tripod,  92. 

„        Tallboys,  94. 
,,  .,  ,,        Urn  stands,  92. 

,,  ,,  „        Wardrobes,  95. 

,,  ,,  ,,  Workmanshipofthe,88. 

Mirror  frames.    "Adam,"  68. 

,,        ,,        Carved  and  gilt,  68. 
,,         ,,        French  rococo,  68. 
„        ,,        Gesso,  61,  68. 
,,         ,,        in  Chinese  taste,  68. 
„        „        in  Gothic  taste,  68. 
„         „        Lacquer,  68. 
„         ,,        Marquetry,  68. 
„        ,,        Tortoise-shell  and  metal,  67. 
,,        ,,        Walnut,  67. 
,,     panels  to  walnut  bureau  bookcases,  49. 
,,        „     to  early  mahogany  bureau  bookcases, 
79- 

„     plate  factory,  Paris,  67. 

,,        „        ,,      Vauxhall,  67. 

„     plates.    Bevelling  of  old,  72. 

„        „        Silvering  of,  72. 
Mirrors,  67. 

„       Chelsea,  69. 

,,      Circular  convex,  68. 

„       Dark  reflection  of  old,  72. 

„       Earliest  type  of,  67. 

,,      Overmantel,  69. 

,,      Spurious,  69. 

„      Tall,  67. 

,,      with  glass  borders,  68. 
Monks'  benches,  29. 
Mortise  and  tenon  joint,  23. 
Moulded  fronts.    Oak,  33,  34. 
Mouldings  and  beads  to  drawer  fronts,  40. 
Mounts,  Metal.    See  Metal  mounts. 

Nails  in  oak  furniture,  24. 
Nantes,  Edict  of.    Effect  of  Revocation  of,  36. 
28 


INDEX 


Needlework  panels  to  firescreens,  82. 

„        seats  to  walnut  chairs  and  settees,  48. 

,,  tops  to  card  tables,  52. 
Nitric  acid  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 

Oak  bosses,  23,  33. 

„  buffets,  26. 

„  bulbous  legs,  30. 

„        „    Dutch,  117. 
„       „       supports,  26. 

„  caryatid  figures,  26. 

,,  chairs,  27. 

„  chests  and  coffers,  32. 

„  court  cupboards,  26. 

„  dressers,  33. 

„  Carving  on,  23. 

„  Furniture.   Colour  of,  22. 
„        „  „      of  eighteenth  century,  34. 

,,        ,,  Dates  on,  23. 

„        „  Design  and  ornamentation  of,  22. 

„        ,,  Drawers  in,  24. 

„        „  Gothic,  20. 

,,        „  Nails  in,  24. 

,,        „  Patina  of,  22. 

„        ,,  Puritan  leather  upholstered,  28. 

,,        „  Renaissance,  2r. 

,,        „  Spurious,  24. 

„        ,,  Tenon  and  mortise  joint  in,  23. 

„        „  Use  of  glue  in,  23. 

,,  Hutches  and  dole  cupboards,  25. 

„  Imitation  of  colour  of,  in  spurious  furniture,  1 5. 

„  Inlay  on,  23. 

,,  Joint  or  coffin  stools,  29. 

,,  Knobbed  turning  in,  28. 

,,  Marquetry  designs  on,  23,  26. 

,,  monks'  benches,  29. 

,,  pendants,  23. 

„  settles,  29. 

,,  spiral  twist  turning  in,  28. 

„  Split  baluster  decoration  on,  25,  33. 

,,  tables.    Draw-top,  30,  117. 

„       „       Gate-leg,  31. 

„       „       Refectory,  30. 

„       „       Side,  32. 

11  tri darns,  26. 

„  Varnish  on,  22,  37. 

I  I 


Oil,  Linseed.    Use  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 

„  polish.    Linseed,  3,  22,  76. 
Open  grain  of  wood  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 
Oriental  lacquer,  54. 
Oval-back  chairs,  105. 
Overmantel  mirrors,  69. 
"Oyster-shell"  inlay,  41. 

Painted  beech  furniture,  45,  106,  113,  116. 

„     decoration  on  copper,  100. 

„  ,,        on  satinwood,  100. 

„      furniture,  100. 

„      or  japanned  furniture,  99. 
Painting  over  old  gilding,  63. 
Panel.    Linen-fold,  22. 
Paris.    Mirror  plate  factory  at,  67. 
Parker.    Stalker  and,  54. 
Patina,  2. 

„  as  safeguard  against  spurious  impositions,  2, 1 4. 
„    Formation  of,  3. 

,,    Imitation  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 

,,    of  early  mahogany  furniture,  76. 

„    of  gesso  and  gilt  furniture,  65. 

,,    of  late  mahogany  furniture,  98. 

„    of  middle  mahogany  furniture,  86. 

,,    of  oak  furniture,  22. 

,,    of  pearwood  furniture,  32. 

„    of  satinwood  furniture,  98. 

,,    of  walnut  furniture,  37. 
Pearwood  furniture.    Patina  of,  32. 

„       gate-leg  tables,  32. 
Pedestal  writing  tables,  50,  80,  107. 
Pedestals  and  side  tables,  III. 
Pembroke  tables,  108. 
Pendants.    Oak,  23. 
Pergolesi,  100. 

"  Period  "  as  applied  to  old  furniture,  1 1. 

Pieces  of  small  dimensions.    Higher  proportionate 

value  of,  6. 
Pine  carcases  for  veneer,  101. 
Pivot-hung  doors  in  furniture,  118. 
Plates,  Mirror.    See  Mirror  plates. 
Polish.    Beeswax  and  turpentine,  4,  12. 

„       Best,  for  old  furniture,  12. 

,,       French,  4. 

„  „      Effect  of,  38. 


29 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Polish,  French.    Use  of,  on  spurious  furniture,  15. 

„     Linseed  oil,  3,  22,  76. 
Polishing,  French.    Depreciation  in  value  by,  5. 
Portuguese  furniture  compared  to  English,  118. 
Potash  salts  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
Present  condition  of  old  furniture,  12. 
Proportion,  good  and  bad,  7. 
Purchasing  defective  furniture.  Undesirabilityof,  12. 

Recipes  for  imitating  colours  of  wood   in  old 

furniture,  15. 
Refectory  tables.    Oak,  30. 
Reflection  of  old  mirrors.    Dark,  72. 
Regilding  furniture,  63. 

Renaissance  design  in  furniture.    Beginning  of,  21. 

„         oak  furniture,  21. 
Reproduction  of  old  furniture.    Legitimate,  13. 
Reproductions  of  old  mahogany  furniture,  105. 

,,  of  old  satinwood  furniture,  105. 

Resilience  test  for  spurious  furniture,  18. 
Revival  of  lacquer  furniture,  56. 
Revocation  of  Edict  of  Nantes.    Effect  of,  36. 
Ribbon  back  chairs,  90. 
Rococo  mirror  frames.    French,  68. 

„      phase  in  English  furniture  design,  85. 

Salts.    Potash.    Use  of,  as  a  colouring  agent,  15. 
San  Domingo  mahogany,  76,  88,  115. 
Satinwood  chairs,  106. 

„       Colour  of,  98. 

,,       Commodes,  109. 

„       East  Indian,  98,  105,  118. 

,,       Furniture,  99. 

„  ,,        Drawers  of,  10 1. 

,,  ,,       Dutch,  118. 

Inlaid,  99. 

„  ,,       Irish,  116. 

,,  „       Painted,  100. 

„  ,,       Reproductions  of  old,  105. 

11  m       Spurious,  103. 

,,  ,,       Workmanship  of,  10 1. 

„       Imitation   of  colour  of,   in  spurious 
furniture,  15. 

„       Secretaire  bookcases,  107. 

,,       Settees,  106. 

,,       Tables.    Card,  no. 

„  „        Pembroke,  108. 


Satinwood  Tables.  Side,  109. 

„  „        Sofa,  109. 

„  ,,        Spider-leg  gate,  108. 

„  ,,        Tea,  108. 

,,       Varnish  on,  98. 

„       Veneer,  99. 

„  „     Carcases  for,  101. 

„       West  Indian,  98,  102,  105. 
Satyr  masks,  40,  47,  52,  62. 
Scagliola  tops  to  side  tables,  109. 
Screens.    Fire.    See  Firescreens. 
Seasoning  and  shrinkage  of  timber,  8. 
Seats  and  backs.    Cane,  35,  38. 
"  Seaweed  "  marquetry,  39. 
Secretaire  bookcases,  106,  107. 
Seddon,  Sons  &  Shackleton,  97. 
Serpentine  fronts,  94,  109,  in,  113. 
Settees.    Carved  and  gilt,  62. 

,,        Chair-back,  47,  78,  90,  106. 
,,         Early  mahogany,  78. 
,,        Late  mahogany,  106. 
,,        Satinwood,  106. 
„        Upholstered,  47,  106. 
,,        Walnut,  47. 
Settles.    Oak,  29. 
Shackleton.    Seddon,  Sons  &,  97. 
Shearer,  Thomas,  97. 
Shell  ornament.    Escallop,  40. 
Sheraton,  Thomas,  97,  112. 
"  Sheraton  "  chairs,  105. 

„         sideboards,  9. 
Shield-back  chairs,  105. 
Shrinkage  and  seasoning  of  timber,  8. 

,,       Defects  in  furniture  due  to,  9. 

,,        in  fret  galleries,  93. 

„       tests  for  spurious  furniture,  19. 
Sideboards,  99,  109,  in,  112. 

,,         "  Sheraton,"  9. 
Side  tables.    See  Tables — Side. 
Silver  furniture,  66. 
Silvered  cabinet-stands,  66. 

„      furniture,  66. 
Silvering  of  old  mirror  plates,  72. 
Soda.    Washing.    Use  in  colouring  of  spurious 

furniture,  15. 
Sofa  tables,  99,  in. 

3° 


INDEX 


Spanish  mahogany,  76,  88,  115. 
Spider-leg  gate  tables,  108. 

„       tables  in  sets,  108. 
Spiral  twist  legs.    See  Legs — Spiral  twist. 
Split  baluster  decoration,  23,  33. 
Spurious  Furniture,  13. 

,,  „        Appearance  of  wear  in  carv- 

ing, 16. 

„  ,,        Bookcases,  43. 

„  „        "Brushing  down"  of,  15. 

,,  „        Buffets,  27. 

„  „        Bureau  bookcases,  49,  91. 

„  ,,        Bureaux,  49. 

,,  „        Cabinets,  58. 

,,  ,,        Carved  gilt  or  silvered  stands, 

57.  64- 

,,  „        "Carved-up"  pieces,  16,  25, 

66,  102. 

,,  ,?        Chairs  and  chair-back  settees, 

43.  46,  47,  64,  103. 
„  „        Chests  on  stands,  53,  57. 

,,  ,,        Chests-with-drawers,  53. 

,,  „        Cheval  glasses,  43. 

,,  ,,        China  cabinets,  43,  92,  103. 

„  „        Colouring,  15. 

„  ,,  ,,     Interiors  of  pieces,  1 5. 

„  „        Commodes,  94,  in. 

„  „        Dole  cupboards,  25. 

,,  „        Draw-top  tables,  30. 

„  „        Dressing  tables,  53. 

,,  „        Early  mahogany,  76. 

,,  „        Errors  in  design  of,  17. 

„  „        Fret  ornament,  89. 

,,  ,,        Gesso  and  gilt,  60. 

„  „        Gothic  oak,  25. 

,,  „        Imitation  of  patina  on,  15. 

„        Lacquer,  57. 
„  ,,        Lacquer  on  old  oak  and  ma- 

hogany plain  pieces,  57. 
,,  „         Late  mahogany,  102. 

,,  „         Metal  work  on,  18. 

„  „         Middle  mahogany,  89. 

,,  „         Mirrors,  69. 

„  „         Needlework  covers,  48. 

»  n         0ak>  24- 

„  „         Open  grain  of  wood  in,  15 

I 


Spurious  Furniture.   Painted  Furniture,  46,  105. 
„  „         Painted  decoration,  104. 

„  ,,         Resilience  test  for,  18. 

„  „         Satinwood,  103. 

„  „         Settees,  43. 

„  „         Side  tables  with  pedestals,  112. 

„  „         Stools,  29,  43,  78. 

„  „         Tables,  51,  64,  83,  109. 

„  „         Tallboys,  95. 

,,  „         Toilet  glasses,  64. 

„  ,,         Torcheres,  64. 

„  ,,         Use  of  lime  for  colouring,  15. 

,,  „         Use  of  linseed  oil  on,  15. 

„  „         Use  of  nitric  acid  for  colour- 

ing, 15. 

,,  „         Use  of  potash  salts  for  colour- 

ing, 15- 

„  „         Use    of   washing   soda  for 

colouring,  15. 
„  ,,         Veneering  old  pieces,  104. 

,,  ,,         Walnut,  42. 

„  ,,         Wardrobes,  95. 

„  „         Warmth  test  for,  18. 

,,  ,,         Weight  test  for,  19. 

„  ,,         Worm-holes  in,  17. 

Stalker  and  Parker,  54. 
Stands.    Carved  gilt,  61. 
,,        Carved  silvered,  66. 
„        Urn,  92. 
Stools.    Early  mahogany,  78. 
,,       Middle  mahogany,  89. 
„       Oak  joint  or  coffin,  29. 
„       Painted  beech,  45. 
,,        Upholstered  beech,  28. 

Walnut,  34,  45,  47. 
,,        with  table  tops.    Oak,  29. 
Style.    The  Adam,  97. 

,,       The  Empire,  98. 
Survey.    Chronological,  119. 

,,        Historical.    See  Historical  Survey. 
Symmetrical  veneering,  41. 

Tables.    Card:    harewood,    no;    lacquer,  56; 

mahogany,  91,  93,  no;  satin- 
wood,  no;  "Sheraton,"  no; 
walnut,  51. 


OLD  ENGLISH  FURNITURE 


Tables.    Centre  :  mahogany,  93  ;  marquetry,  5 1 ; 
walnut,  51. 
,,        Console  :  gilt,  62. 
„        Dining:  mahogany,  82,  no. 
„        Drawer-top :  oak,  30 ;  Dutch  oak,  117. 
,,        Dressing:  harewood,  114;  lacquer,  56; 

mahogany,   94,   95,  113; 

satinwood,  109  ;  walnut,  53. 
„  Gate-leg:  elm,  32  ;  oak,  31 ;  pearwood,32. 
,,        "Harlequin":  32. 

„        Ladies'  work  :  mahogany,  99,  109  ;  satin- 
wood,  in. 
„        Marquetry:  51;  Dutch,  51,  118. 
,,        "Pembroke":   mahogany,    108  j  satin- 
wood,  108. 
"  Pie-crust "  top :  83. 
„        Refectory :  oak,  30. 
,,        Side:  gesso,  61;  gilt,  62;  Irish,  115, 
116;  lacquer,  56;  mahogany, 
81,  109,  in;  oak,  32;  satin- 
wood,  109;  with  marble  tops, 
62,  82  ;  with  pedestals  and  urns, 
1 1 1 ;  with  scagliola  tops,  109. 
,,        Sofa  :  mahogany,  99,   1 1 1 ;  rosewood, 

in  ;  satinwood,  III. 
„        Spider-leg:  mahogany  gate,    108;  ma- 
hogany sets,  108;  satin- 
wood  sets,  108. 
Spurious:  51,  64,  83,  109. 
,,        Tea:  mahogany,  108;  satinwood,  108. 
„        Trestle  :  oak,  30. 
„        Tripod:  mahogany,  83,  92,  no. 
„        Urn :   mahogany,  93,  109 ;  satinwood, 
109. 

,,        Writing:  "Carlton,"  107;  lacquer,  51; 

mahogany,  80,  107 ; 
pedestal,  50,  80,  107  ;  tam- 
bour top,  107  ;  satinwood, 
107 ;  walnut,  50. 

Tallboys.    Mahogany,  84,  94,  113;  Walnut,  53. 

Tenon  and  mortise  joint,  23. 

Tests  for  spurious  furniture.    Initial,  18. 

Thickness  of  veneers,  10. 

Timber.    Repeal  of  duty  on  imported,  75. 
„         Seasoning  and  shrinkage  of,  8. 

Toilet  glasses.    Mahogany,  113. 


Tortoise-shell  and  metal  mirror  frames,  67. 
Tridarns,  26. 

Tripod  furniture  :  Mahogany.    Candle-stands,  82  ; 

dumb  waiters,  83;  firescreens,  82,  in;  tables 

with  circular  tops,  82  ;  with  pie-crust  tops,  82  ; 

with  gallery  tops,  92  ;  torcheres,  83. 
Turning.  Baluster,  38  ;  Knobbed,  28  ;  Spiral  twist, 

28,  38. 

Turpentine  and  beeswax  polish,  4,  1 2. 

"Untouched  "  condition,  2,  4. 

Upholstered  furniture.     Jacobean,  28 ;  Puritan 

leather,  28 ;  Walnut  chairs,  38,  46. 
Urn  stands,  93,  109. 

Varnish,  on  gesso,  62  ;  old  pieces  covered  with 
mastic,  5;  on  oak,  22,  37;  on  satinwood,  98; 
on  walnut,  37. 
Vauxhall.    Mirror  plate  factory  at,  67. 
Veneer.    Cross-banding  in,  39 ;  Harewood,  99 ; 
Mahogany,  88,  99  ;  "  Oyster-shell,"  41 ;  Satin- 
wood,  99;  Thickness  of,  10,  42  ;  Walnut,  39. 
Veneering.    Carcases  for.    Cedar,  102  ;  deal,  41, 
88;   mahogany,    101  ;   oak,  76; 
pine,  41,  88,  101. 
„  Symmetrical,  41. 

Walnut.    American,  77;  Burr,  41. 

„  furniture,  35  ;  bedroom,  53  ;  bureaux  and 
bureau  bookcases,  48 ;  cabinets,  48, 
50;  chairs,  35,  38,  46,  47  ;  chests-with- 
drawers,  52;  Colour  of,  37;  day-beds, 
35  ;  Decline  of,  36 ;  Dutch  and  French 
influences  on,  35,  36;  marquetry,  36; 
mirror  frames,  67 ;  Patina  on,  37 ; 
settees,  47  ;  spurious — see  Spurious 
Furniture ;  stools,  37,  47  ;  tables,  48, 
50,  51,  53;  tallboys,  53;  Varnish  on, 
37;  veneer,  39,  42  ;  workmanship,  41. 

Wardrobes,  95,  113,  118. 

Workmanship,  8,  23,  41,  59,  62,  76,  88,  101. 

Work  tables.    Ladies',  99. 

Worm-holes,  17. 

Wright  &  Mansfield,  105. 

Writing  tables.    See  Tables — Writing. 

Yorkshire  oak  chairs,  28. 
Zucchi,  Antonio,  100. 


-6I02<?3 


GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE 


